When a supply shock hits a product for which there’s no alternative — toilet paper during Covid, for instance — there’s not much people can do except deal with it. If a ready substitute is waiting in the wings, the outcome can be mass defection.

Think of how American drivers switched to smaller, fuel-efficient Japanese vehicles in the wake of the 1970s oil embargoes. Detroit’s big three produced almost half the world’s cars in 1973. They account for well under 10% today.

© Bloomberg