The prices of goods have reduced significantly owing to increased productivity, technology, and other factors, which allows people to afford various products. In my opinion, I think it has more negatives like lower quality goods and excessive waste as compared to any positives it might bring.
Admittedly, there are some benefits of affordable consumer goods. Firstly, the life of the population has largely improved in many areas. In terms of daily necessities such as food and clothing, lower costs enable even the impoverished to live on a tiny budget without their serious concern about hunger or the cold. Secondly, with affordable prices, those with average incomes can enjoy products of higher quality such as entertainment and education and it gives better life quality to ordinary people. For instance, travelling by air for a holiday has become very common because of the cheap airlines, and more people are now able to attend courses with reasonable fees at centers.
Despite the advantages above, I think price reduction is also accompanied by several disadvantages. One of them is the decline in product quality generally caused by the failure to comply with mass manufacture standards. An obvious example of this is China-made goods that are notorious for poor durability as a result of using unqualified materials and unskilled labor in exchange for price competitiveness. Another problem is that people can waste products and resources when the goods are too cheap. For example, households and restaurants throw away a massive amount of leftovers every day worldwide; similarly, water is wasted in many developed countries.
In conclusion, it is obvious to acknowledge the benefits of humans’ effort to make products financially available for everyone, but the adverse effects of this development are more than its benefits.