A decrease in consumer income will always lead to a leftward shift in the demand curve for normal goods, but not for inferior goods.

When people earn less, they buy fewer normal goods, so the demand curve for those goods shifts leftward. If a good is inferior, a drop in income can actually make it more attractive, causing its demand curve to shift rightward. The reason is that normal goods are purchased more as income rises, while inferior goods are chosen more when money is tight. Thus, a lower income reduces the quantity demanded of normal goods but can increase the quantity demanded of inferior goods. For example, coffee is a normal good that people buy less of when their income falls, whereas instant noodles are inferior and people buy more of them as income drops.