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Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or households
Household

The household is "the basic residential unit in which production , consumption , inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonomous with family"....
 that use goods and services generated within the economy
Economic system

An economic system or ?conomic system is a system that involves the Economic production, distribution and consumption of Good and Service between the entities in a particular society....
. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.

nsumer 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
Commodity

A commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative product differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk....
 item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision.






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Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or households
Household

The household is "the basic residential unit in which production , consumption , inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonomous with family"....
 that use goods and services generated within the economy
Economic system

An economic system or ?conomic system is a system that involves the Economic production, distribution and consumption of Good and Service between the entities in a particular society....
. The concept of a consumer is used in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.

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
Commodity

A commodity is anything for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative product differentiation across a market. It is a product that is the same no matter who produces it, such as petroleum, notebook paper, or milk....
 item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision. However there is a trend in marketing
Marketing

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large....
 to individualize the concept. Instead of generating broad demographic profile
Demographic profile

A demographic or demographic profile is a term used in marketing and broadcasting, to describe a demographics grouping or a market segment....
  and psychographic profile
Psychographic

In the field of marketing, demographics, opinion research, and social studies in general, psychographic variables are any attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles....
s of market segment
Market segment

A market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product and/or service needs....
s, marketers are engaging in personalized marketing
Personalized marketing

Personalized marketing is an extreme form of product differentiation. Whereas product differentiation tries to differentiate a product from competing ones, personalization tries to make a unique product for each customer....
, permission marketing
Permission marketing

Permission marketing is a term used in marketing in general and e-marketing specifically. Marketers will ask permission before advancing to the next step in the purchasing process....
, and mass customization
Mass customization

Mass customization, in marketing, manufacturing, and management, is the use of flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom output....
.

In free market
Free market

A free market is a market that is free of government intervention and regulation, besides the minimal function of maintaining the legal system and protecting property rights, and is also free of private force and fraud....
 or capitalist
Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are private property and controlled rather than commonly, publicly, or state-owned and controlled....
 economies, consumers are presumed to dictate what goods are produced and are generally considered the center of economic activity. Individual consumption
Consumption (economics)

Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally consumption is defined by opposition to Production theory basics....
 of goods and services is primarily linked to the consumer's level of disposable income
Disposable income

Disposable income is gross income minus income tax on that income.Discretionary income is income after subtracting taxes and normal expenses to maintain a certain standard of living....
, and budget allocations are made to maximize the consumer's marginal utility
Marginal utility

In economics, the marginal utility of a Good or of a Service is the utility of the specific use to which an agent would put a given increase in that good or service, or of the specific use that would be abandoned in response to a given decrease....
. In 'time series' models of consumer behavior, the consumer may also invest
Investment

Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to Saving or deferring Consumption ....
 a proportion of their budget in order to gain a greater budget in future periods. This investment choice may include either fixed rate interest
Interest

Interest is a fee paid on borrowed assets. It is the price paid for the use of borrowed money , or, money earned by deposited funds .Assets that are sometimes lent with interest include money, shares, consumer goods through hire purchase, major assets such as aircraft finance, and even entire factories in finance lease arrangements....
 or risk-bearing securities
Security

Security is the degree of protection against danger, loss, and criminals. Individuals or actions that encroach upon the condition of protection are responsible for a "breach of security."...
.

In law and politics

Within law, the notion of consumer is primarily used in relation to consumer protection
Consumer protection

Consumer protection is a form of government regulation which protects the interests of consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products?particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food....
 laws, and the definition of consumer is often restricted to living persons (i.e. not corporations or businesses) and excludes commercial users. 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. As of all potential voters are also consumers, consumer protection takes on a clear political significance.

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
Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is an United States magazine published monthly by Consumers Union. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory....
 and Choice Magazine
Choice magazine

CHOICE Magazine is a publication of the Australian Consumers Association, a non-profit organization founded in 1959 to research and advocate on behalf of Australian consumers....
, dedicated to assist in consumer education and decision making, and Consumer Direct
Consumer Direct

Consumer Direct is a Government of the United Kingdom-funded call centre providing basic consumer advice in the United Kingdom. Information is also provided on their website ....
 in the UK.

See also


  • Alpha consumer
    Alpha consumer

    Alpha Consumer is someone that plays a key role in connecting with the concept behind a product, then adopting that product, and finally validating it for the rest of society....
  • Consumer debt
    Consumer debt

    Category:FinanceConsumer debt is consumer credit which is outstanding. In macroeconomics terms, it is debt which is used to fund consumption rather than investment....
  • Consumer theory
    Consumer theory

    Consumer theory is a theory of microeconomics that relates preferences to supply and demand. The link between personal preferences, consumption, and the demand curve is one of the most complex relations in economics....
  • Consumerism
    Consumerism

    Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with Consumption and the purchase of material possessions.The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen....
  • Consumers' cooperative
    Consumers' cooperative

    A consumers' cooperative is a cooperative business owned by its customers for their Mutual aid. It is a form of capitalism that is oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit....
  • ConsumerSearch
    ConsumerSearch

    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....
  • Consumption
    Consumption (economics)

    Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally consumption is defined by opposition to Production theory basics....
  • Coolhunting
    Coolhunting

    Coolhunting is a term coined in the early 1990s referring to a new breed of marketing professionals, called coolhunters. It is their job to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends....
  • Mass customization
    Mass customization

    Mass customization, in marketing, manufacturing, and management, is the use of flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom output....
  • Mental health consumer
    Mental health consumer

    A mental health consumer is a person who is under treatment for a psychiatric illness or disease. The term was coined in an attempt to empower those with mental health issues, usually considered a Marginalization segment of society....
  • Consumer reporting agency
    Consumer reporting agency

    An agency which collects and sells information about the creditworthiness of individuals. A credit reporting agency does not make any decisions about whether a specific person should be extended credit or not....
  • Consumer protection
    Consumer protection

    Consumer protection is a form of government regulation which protects the interests of consumers. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products?particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food....
  • Consumer organization
    Consumer organization

    Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse. Unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution are all examples of corporate abuse....
  • Consumer Direct
    Consumer Direct

    Consumer Direct is a Government of the United Kingdom-funded call centre providing basic consumer advice in the United Kingdom. Information is also provided on their website ....
  • National consumer agency
    National consumer agency

    The National Consumer Agency is a statutory body that defends consumer interests in the Republic of Ireland....
  • informed consumer
    Informed consumer

    The concept of the informed consumer is a fundamental one in the law of the European Union. Since the general Resolution of 1975, one of the primary objectives of the European Community, and then the European Union, has been the provision of information to consumers....