All Commerce terms (2026)

Wants

Something not essential for survival, but desirable.

Needs

Something essential to live (food, water, shelter).

Goods

Physical items that can be purchased.

Services

Actions and activities performed for payment.

Consumer

A person who buys goods or services.

Producer

A person or business that makes or sells goods/services.

Scarcity

When limited resources mean not all wants can be satisfied.

Opportunity Cost

The next best alternative given up when a choice is made.

Income

Money received (wages, pocket money, benefits).

Revenue

Money a business earns from selling goods/services.

Expenses

Costs a business must pay to operate.

Profit

The money a business has left over after expenses (Revenue - Expenses).

Market

A place or situation where buyers and sellers interact.

Budget

A plan for managing income and expenses.

Savings

Money that is kept instead of spent.

Complementary goods

Which go together. When a consumer buys one, they often buy the other.

Substitute goods

Can be replaced by another.

Inferior goods

Perceived to be of lower quality and are usually cheaper.

Luxury goods

Those which are deemed to be of better quality and usually more expensive.

pūtake

The origin, purpose, or reason for being an orgnaisation.

Financial Interdependence

The situation where individuals, groups, organisations, or countries rely on each other for income, sales and/or revenue, meaning decisions or changes in one directly affect the others.

Direct impact

An immediate and clearly observable effect that occurs as a direct result of an action or event/decision.

Flow-on effect

A secondary or subsequent effect that occurs as a result of an initial (direct) impact, often over time and through one or more intermediate steps.