Photo: @annewusti via Twenty20
The term “consumer” is reportedly facing some backlash as over-consumption takes the blame for many environmental issues.
Writing for Quartz, Cassie Werber noted that “consumer” is used interchangeably for “person” in business publications, research and journalism.
“The argument for its ubiquity is fair: All humans consume, even if our consumption is limited to food, water, and the other things necessary for survival. Many of us consume a lot. But there’s a small, growing group that’s beginning to reject the term, together with what it’s come to mean about our society, and the kinds of economies we aspire to. Fundamentally, they say, we shouldn’t view people through the lens of what they acquire, devour, or use up.”
Retailers often use “consumers” or “shoppers” to speak broadly in business terms while referring to their own patrons as “customers” or “guests.”
Questions about the usage of “consumer” have been heard before.
As noted by The Guardian, the late Welsh socialist writer Raymond Williams wrote in 1962 that while it’s natural to refer to consumers to measure production’s link to economic activity, as the word’s use grows, “it becomes increasingly obvious that society is not controlling its economic life, but is in part being controlled by it."
Lately, qualms over its use reflect environmental concerns. Brand messaging detailing the effect of consumerism and encouraging more conscious and responsible buying habits have become more common since Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad arrived in 2011.
GlobeScan’s third annual “Healthy & Sustainable Living'' study found 73 percent of consumers globally agreeing consumption needs to be reduced to preserve the environment for future generations, with 52 percent feeling guilty about their own negative impact.
Academics are also reportedly more uncomfortable with how “consumer” translates.
“Oddly, some members of our community cringe or sneer at the word consumer,” the editors of the Journal of Consumer Research wrote in a January editorial.
The editors stressed that insights into people’s choices when they are “acting as ‘consumers'” provides a better understanding into the negatives and positives of consumption. The authors wrote, “We see pressing problems in the world that have their root in consumption practices.”
- There’s a growing clamor to stop calling people “consumers” – Quartz
- Be a user, not a consumer: how capitalism has changed our language – The Guardian
- Don’t Buy This Jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times – Patagonia
- Five Reasons To Kill The Word 'Consumer' Right Now – Forbes
- You're Better Than That: Why Consumer Is a Dirty Word – Huffington Post
- More Consumers are Serious about Climate Change. Are Business and Government Listening? – Globescan
- Relevance — Reloaded and Recoded – Journal of Consumer Research