Consumer Behaviour – Isabelle Szmigin (2018)
,Part 1: Historical and Current Perspectives on Consumption
Consumer Behaviour Chapter 1: For understanding consumption
Central to the marketing concept is the need for organizations to recognize the factors that
shape and influence people's behaviour in different environments. The cultures of those of us
living in affluent (wealthy) societies are influenced by consumption.
Consumption: individuals or groups acquiring, using and disposing of products, services,
ideas or experiences
Early history of consumption
Hundreds of years ago, people had no opportunities to make choices between alternative
products or brands, partly because there was so little to choose from and because few would
be living above subsistence (levensonderhoud) level. If surplus was produced, then it may
have been exchanged for other goods. In many parts of the worlds, subsistence level
consumption still exists.
Medieval times: traditional patterns of exchange through sharing and bartering (ruilhandel),
often within a fixed geographical location such as a village.
Most important aspect of marketing: the relationship between production and consumption
Consumption has been a feature of human society and culture. The growth of trade, and more
latterly globalization, has been a key element in the development of consumption beyond
subsistence. Recent historical accounts have challenged the view that most consumption of
luxury goods was restricted to the elites. New evidence suggests that the consumption of
goods grew rapidly throughout the eighteenth century and was on a scale that suggests
widespread consumption. Not only was consumption extensive, but it also proved a key
, stimulant of the Industrial Revolution, and therefore, the rise of contemporary mass
consumerism as local attempts at producing exotic goods multiplied.
As the rate of consumption increased, so did its critics. An interesting aspect of early
consumption was the development of sumptuary laws, which are laws that attempt to
regulate expenditure, especially with a view to restraining excess in food, dress, equipage, etc.
Throughout history, sumptuary laws have played a role in many countries as a way of
regulating people's expenditure and curbing conspicuous consumption. These laws are a
manifestation of an important theme found in many studies of consumer behaviour that centre
around the idea of the ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to consume. Today, while some people are
accused of excessive, wasteful, or conspicuous consumption, others are concerned about
ethical consumption and the impact that their behaviour has on the environment and on people
living in socio-politically oppressive regimes.. Throughout the history of consumption we see
this juxtaposition (naast elkaar plaatsing) of conspicuous or inappropriate consumption
against more considered or thoughtful way to consume.
Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations) looked for the connections between consumption and
production, writing that 'Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the
interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only in so far as it may be necessary for
promoting that of the consumer' (Smith, 1776|1981: 660). Smith made it clear that producers
had a responsibility to their consumers. He suggested that consumption be restricted to
promoting economic growth and also believed that luxury consumption could prevent
stagnation.
John Stuart Mill criticized the purchase of luxuries such as gold, lace, pineapples and
champagne as 'unproductive' consumption (Mill, 1848/2004).
19th century: Karl Marx was concerned that people did not recognize the value of the
commodities they consumed (Marx, 1867/2000). He found that commodity was primarily a
product of labour.
Different conceptions of value, because it is a hard idea to pin down:
Traditional concepts:
- Exchange value: in most circumstances the same as the market price. It
represent what the value of a good is to the consumer and therefore what it
could be exchanged for, usually its price.
- Use value: adds a further dimension compared to exchange value. It is the
value of a good to a consumer in terms of usefulness it provides. It means the
satisfaction we get from a good or service, which is usually thought of as being
determined by a set of attributes that define its quality.
Use value is necessary for exchange value, but can be above it of below it for an individual
buyer or seller.
Today concepts:
- Sign or symbolic value: the symbolic meaning consumers attach to goods to
construct and participate in the social world.
- Fetishism of commodities (Marx, 1876/1976): the disguising or masking of
commodities whereby the appearance of goods hides the story of those who
