In economics, consumers are individuals or households that "consume" goods and services generated within the economy. Since this includes just about everyone, the term is a political term as much as an economic term when it is used in everyday speech. Typically when businesspeople 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 and psychographic profiles of market segments, marketers are engaging in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization.
In standard microeconomic theory, a consumer is assumed to have a budget which can be spent on a range of goods and services available on the market. Under the assumption of rationality, the budget allocation is chosen according to the preference of the consumer, i.e. to maximize his or her utility function.
In time-series models of consumer behaviour, 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.
In the context of mental health, consumer is also a term applied to describe a person living with mental illness.
Concern over the best interests of consumers has spawned much activism, as well as incorporation of consumer education into the school curriculum. One non-profit publication active in consumer education is Consumer Reports.
Within many selling companies "consumer" has come to be a derogatory term which means a "purchaser of products who is not very intelligent." This is in contrast to the meaning of customer, which is defined as "an intelligent purchaser who has power in the purchasing relationship between buyer and seller."
Consumer World is a public service, non-commercial* guide with over 2000 of the most useful consumerresources.
JD Power questioned 22,000 consumers two years after they bought dishwashers, ovens, washers and dryers, refrigerators, and other appliances to see how satisfied they were.
Use of trademarks, logos, and brand names in Consumer World are for identification purposes only, and does not imply an endorsement of Consumer World by the trademark owner, or that such trademark owner has authorized Consumer World to promote its products, services, or content.
Consumer protection is government regulation to protect the interests of consumers, for example by requiring businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food.
Consumer protection is linked to the idea of consumer rights (that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to consumer organizations which help consumers make better choices in the marketplace.
Consumer protection law or consumer law is considered an area of public law that regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell them goods and services.
Feeds |
Contact