Each person, as they grow older, undergoes social adaptation, merging into various kinds of social, economic and other relations. From a certain age, he can visit stores, outlets, becoming a direct buyer, consumer of a product. The older a person becomes, the wider the range of products that he can theoretically acquire. And the higher and more stable his financial situation, the more varied his demands and needs, the more extensive his purchasing opportunities. In this regard, in the economic sciences, a term such as consumer equilibrium is used.
What is included in this concept? According to the rule, the balance of the consumer is a kind of point of maximum utility of the goods purchased by him. For example, a person receives such and such income, expressed in a certain amount of money. He can spend part of this amount on the purchase of some thing, for example, a suit. He needs a suit of a specific size, a certain style, color, manufacturer's company. The price of a thing is fixed - the consumer cannot spend on the purchase more than what is allocated from the available funds. And the consumer’s balance is such a moment when, from the variety of goods, he finds one that will meet all his needs, satisfy both the price and the quality of the material, tailoring, how the thing will sit on it, how easy it will be to pick it up from the store, etc. That is, when the consumer understands: this particular thing is what he needs, when he needs and for how much he needs. By purchasing this product, he will experience the effect of satisfaction on how and what he spent his money on, spent his income.
Consumer equilibrium can be expressed by the fractional equation, where the numerator will have the variable MU, denoting the marginal utility of any goods, and the denominator, the variable P, denoting their price. And then MU1 will relate to P1 as MU2 - to P2 and so on a certain number of times.
Naturally, the consumer equilibrium conditions must have some prerequisites:
- it is necessary that the goods or benefits that a person acquires correspond to the possibilities of his budget, i.e. were on the so-called budget line ;
- so that in the market of goods and services, material and other benefits, the consumer has the opportunity to find, choose the most optimal combination of the desired.
The term consumer equilibrium is associated with yet another concept - the indifference curve. It is understood as those goods, services, etc. that are either not available at all to one or another consumer, or do not meet its individual requirements, and therefore cause only partial interest, or do not cause any at all. Or, it can show what a person would like to acquire if his budget corresponded to these needs. And if you translate these relations into a graph of the function, then both lines, i.e. indifference curve and budget, will give an accurate picture of how the buyer can get the most benefit and satisfaction from the purchased goods, etc. within the limited scope of his budget. Specifically, this is understood as follows: a person has an income, a budget is planned from him - whether for a family, for a month or a week - according to the situation. Within the budget, things are acquired, albeit two or two benefits, different. It is important for economists and planners working in a system of market relations to calculate the situation in which situation the consumer will receive the maximum benefit from these acquired goods with his own budget.
Why is this needed? Firstly, to correctly systematize the classes and categories of customers according to their needs and material capabilities. Secondly, to fill the market with currently demanded goods and predict possible future needs. And finally, in order to conduct the right pricing policy, in which the products will be sold out, and manufacturing companies, intermediaries, etc. will not stay in the loser