Social Psychology of Consumers

Random changes in the products and services of firms, competitive strategies of firms in the marketplace, and factors driving the cultural characteristics of consumers around the world are arguably the most critical issues in determining the success of modern business. This chapter provides an in-depth psychological analysis of social consumerism that draws from a wide range of theoretical and analytical approaches. Distant influences, such as advertising, consumption, materialism, and socioeconomic systems that affect the personal, social, and ecological well-being of consumers are categorically discussed in this chapter. Powerful forces on market changes driven by innovations, technology growth, communications, marketing and advertising, and psychographics are interacting to dissolve the boundaries across markets and cultures, and are accelerating the emergence of a homogeneous global consumer culture. This chapter addresses the concerns on effectiveness perspectives of linear and radical changes in the market in reference to cultural shifts, preparing customers for innovation and technology changes, changing psychographic paradigms, and demographic congregation that drive the market.