Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many microeconomic and government models. ... A good in economics is any physical object (natural or man-made) or service that, upon consumption, increases utility, and therefore can be sold at a price in a market. ...

Consumer in economics and marketing

A consumer is a person who uses any product or service. Typically when business people and economists talk of consumers they are talking about person as consumer, an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision. However there is a trend in marketing to individualize the concept. Instead of generating broad demographic profile and psychographic profiles of market segments, marketers are engaging in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization.^[1] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Individualism, in general, is a term used to describe a theoretical or practical emphasis of the individual, as opposed to, and possibly at the expense of, the group. ... Next big thing redirects here. ... A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographic grouping or a market segment. ... In marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social research in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles. ... A Market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs. ... Personalized marketing (also called personalization, and sometimes called one-to-one marketing) is an extreme form of product differentiation. ... Permission marketing is a term used in e-marketing. ... LOLZ Mass customization is a business technique which allows any customer to buy a product or service that has been pre-designed(customized) to fit a customers exact needs. ...

In free market or capitalist economies, consumers are presumed to dictate what goods are produced and are generally considered the center of economic activity. Individual consumption of goods and services is primarily linked to the consumer's level of disposable income, and budget allocations are made to maximize the consumer's marginal utility.^[2] In 'time series' models of consumer behavior, the consumer may also invest a proportion of their budget in order to gain a greater budget in future periods. This investment choice may include either fixed rate interest or risk-bearing securities. A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... In economics, consumption refers to the final use of goods and services to provide utility. ... For the album by punk rock band, Snuff, see Disposable Income (album) Disposable income is the total amount of income an individual makes after direct taxes. ... “Marginal revolution” redirects here. ... Invest redirects here. ... For other senses of this word, see interest (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ...

Consumer in law and politics

Within law, the notion of consumer is primarily used in relation to consumer protection laws, and the definition of consumer is often restricted to living persons (i.e. not corporations or businesses) and excludes commercial users.^[3] A typical legal rationale for protecting the consumer is based on the notion of policing market failures and inefficiencies, such as inequalities of bargaining power between a consumer and a business.^[4] As potential voters are also consumers, consumer protection takes on a clear political significance. Consumer protection is a form of government regulation which protects the interests of consumers. ...

Concern over the interests of consumers has also spawned much activism, as well as incorporation of consumer education into school curricula. There are also various non-profit publications, such as Consumer Reports and Choice Magazine, dedicated to assist in consumer education and decision making. Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union. ... CHOICE Magazine is a publication of the Australian Consumers Association (ACA), a non-profit organization founded in 1959 to research and advocate on behalf of Australian consumers, similar to Consumer Reports in the United States. ...

See also

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of

Category:Consumer

• Consumers' cooperative
• Consumer debt
• Consumerism
• Consumer theory
• Consumption
• Mass customization
• Coolhunting
• ConsumerSearch

Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... A consumers cooperative is a cooperative business owned by its customers for their mutual benefit. ... Consumer debt is consumer credit which is outstanding. ... Consumerist redirects here. ... Consumer theory is a theory of economics. ... In economics, consumption refers to the final use of goods and services to provide utility. ... LOLZ Mass customization is a business technique which allows any customer to buy a product or service that has been pre-designed(customized) to fit a customers exact needs. ... Coolhunting is a term coined in the early 1990s referring to a new breed of marketing professionals, called coolhunters. ... ConsumerSearch is an English-language search engine for consumer product reviews, plus a database of reports on consumer products and services, published and updated only online. ...

References

1. ^ Cross, Robert G. (1997). Revenue management: hard-core tactics for market domination. Broadway Books, 66-71. ISBN 0-553-06734-6. 
2. ^ Brown Partworks Ltd. (2000). Economics, Volume Five - Economic Theory. Grolier Educational, 16. ISBN 0-7172-9570-2. 
3. ^ Krohn, Lauren (1995). Consumer protection and the law: a dictionary. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0-87436-749-2. 
4. ^ An Institutional Analysis of Consumer Law. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.