Perishability ("Instorability") & Fluctuating Demand:

Services are perishable because they cannot be stored.

Examples of perishable services are the following:-

• Idle mechanics in a garage
• Empty seats in a stadium during a game, or in a cinema when a show is going on, or in a plane.
• Furthermore, there are seasonal market fluctuations, eg. Some golf courses remain unused during winter in some countries, or city buses and matatus are irregular in Kenya during the weekends and mid-days.

Some exceptions to the generalisation regarding perishability and storage of services are given below: -

• In health and life insurance the service is purchased but held by the seller until it is required by the buyer or the beneficiary (the holding is a temporary storage).
• Telephone companies can sometimes lower rates at night and weekends. This is done to avoid perishability or fluctuating demand.
• For idle plant, marketing executives may look for new uses of equipment in order to avoid the fluctuations.
• In transport services the consumers can be encouraged to use the non-peak hours period.