In early 2018 businesses bought more inventory, increasing GDP. What would happen if consumers didn't buy those goods?

If a company increases its final goods inventory level, that will increase the country's GDP even if the goods are not sold during the current period (they will be sold in future periods). Increases in inventory level are considered part of Investment component of the GDP.

If the inventories are not sold during the year (2018) and if they continue to be  unsold during part of 2019, that will negatively affect the GDP because fewer goods will be purchased to replenish these inventories and the market price of the goods will also decrease. The market price of goods is determined by the supply and demand. If the supply is much higher than the demand and inventories start to pile up, their price will decrease in order to increase the quantity demanded. If the volume of the goods in inventory is significant enough, this should lower the inflation rate.

in 2001, dell computer became the world’s largest personal computer vendor, continuing to

gain market share and post profits in an industry struggling with slumping sales and billions of

dollars in losses. dell sells 90% of its pcs directly to the final customer, largely bypassing the

reseller channel that accounts for most of the world’s pc sales. this direct customer relationship

is the key to dell’s business model, and provides distinct advantages over the indirect sales

model. dell’s direct relationship with the customer allows it to tailor its offerings to customer

needs, offer add-on products and services, and use the internet to offer a variety of customer

services. in addition, dell’s pcs are built to customers’ specifications upon receipt of an order,

giving dell additional advantages over indirect pc vendors who must try to forecast demand and

ship products based on those forecasts. dell’s direct sales and build-to-order model has achieved

superior performance in the pc industry in terms of inventory turnover, reduced overhead, cash

conversion, and return on investment (kraemer, et al., 2000).

explanation: