Changes in prices lead most consumers to alter their choices. For
example, as prices for hotel rooms fall, vacationers may be more likely to
take weekend trips.
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Now consider what happens if income, tastes, population, and the prices
of all other products remain constant and the price of only one product
changes. As the price goes up, that product becomes an increasingly
expensive means of satisfying a desire. Many consumers will decide to
switch wholly or partly to other products. Some consumers will stop
buying it altogether, others will buy smaller amounts, and still others may
continue to buy the same quantity. But the overall effect is that less will
be demanded of the product whose price has risen. For example, as meat
becomes more expensive, some consumers will switch to meat
substitutes; others may forgo meat at some meals and eat less meat at
others. Taken together as a group, consumers will want to buy less meat
when its price rises.