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Consumerism now has the power to make or break business. ''The average life expectancy of a multinational corporation-Fortune 500 or its equivalent-is between 40 and 50 years.'' (http://www.businessweek.com/chapter/degeus.htm). (Blackberry, Nokia, Canon,Fuji films)
However with the onslaught of consumerism and a more 'want' based society is causing what we refer to as corporate decline. This is reducing the life cycle of companies, and causing smaller companies to mushroom faster.
Consumer protection is a major topic of discussion across the world. This is because many consumers are not aware about their rights. This fact favours the marketers as they misuse the ignorance of the consumer. After many repeated attempts, some changes have been noticed in the attitude of consumers. Due to this the movement of consumerism is gaining momentum.
Consumerism has been an increasing tendency in our society, especially in developed countries. The sovereignty of the consumer regarding to the supply is a much discussed topic in all industries. Consumerism has various meanings but we adhere to the following one developed by Kotler: Consumerism demands that companies should do what is best for the consumer; serve their interests, not their desires; even if this is not always what the consumer wants, especially in the short term.
Consumerism is a reality and there is a saying that "I consume therefore I am."
After we get up in the morning, we use a particular brand of toothpaste, shaving lotion, soap and shampoo. When we get ready for the office, we choose a formal shirt with matching pair of trousers, and a good pair of shoes. In the office, we use a renowned brand of computer, and drink with a personalized coffee mug. Afternoon leaves a lot to decide on where to have lunch. In the evening, while leaving the office, we look forward to stopping by on that gift store to purchase a beautiful dress for our girlfriend. We also decide on the best ambiance-offering restaurant to take her to. And finally, we decide on the best blanket, pillows and slip-ons for the night. This is the essential meaning of consumerism and clearly, it offers benefits to the companies- across every vertical- consumer goods, electronics, accessories, retail, you name it!
Apart from providing the money to the markets, consumerism also ease the consumer life. By spending money, a person can have things which make his life easier. He can enjoy the comforts of a car while driving to office, a good romantic ambiance while dining with his beloved or a good night sleep on a stress-relieving mattress. But yes, sometimes it may lead to profuse spending and it leads to another state. Consumerism encourages highly wasteful behavior. We waste our money on goods that we often do not need-- big businesses and advertisers work tirelessly to create an environment conducive to impulse buys. Think about all the little goodies they pack around the check-out in stores. We waste our time search for new things to buy rather than thinking up ways to (re)use the things we already have. Consumerism leads to overproduction oft times (there are many structures at work that contribute to this problem however). Overproduction leads to the waste of valuable resources and energy. It also contributes to increasing amounts of plastics in our oceans and landfills. That's just to name a few.
You see the consumer is important, people purchasing products means people will keep working, without them, people will lay off, and economic will have trouble moving, a study shows that 20% of richest countries consume 76% of products.
Consumerism is economically manifested in the chronic purchasing of new goods and services, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal. Consumerism is driven by huge sums spent on advertising designed to create both a desire to follow trends, and the resultant personal self-reward system based on acquisition. Materialism is one of the end results of consumerism.
Consumerism interferes with the workings of society by replacing the normal common-sense desire for an adequate supply of life's necessities, community life, a stable family and healthy relationships with an artificial ongoing and insatiable quest for things and the money to buy them with little regard for the true utility of what is bought. An intended consequence of this, promoted by those who profit from consumerism, is to accelerate the discarding of the old, either because of lack of durability or a change in fashion.
M. Khalid has explains well....
Because of globalization, and as a result has increased the intensity of competition until there became a race between companies to enter markets the most promising and the companies studied consumerism communities to determine the so-called markets, the blue a large and little competition, especially oil-producing countries, especially the Gulf states of consumerism and that do not have strong national industries, becoming a target for companies big
Consumerism as a social and economic order and ideology encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts , consumption of goods obviously is a function of our culture. Only by producing and selling things and services does capitalism in its present form work, and the more that is produced and the more that is purchased the more we have progress and prosperity. The single most important measure of economic growth is, after all, the gross national product (GNP), the sum total of goods and services produced by a given society in a given year. It is a measure of the success of a consumer society, obviously, to consume
Arab countries and middle east
In my opinion, basically consumerism is the main driving force for prosperity and advancement in technology and societies all over the world. What is the main drive for any company innovation? mainly it's the profit and profit comes from sales and sales is all about how to drive consumerism.
Thanks I amagree with my colleagues answer Mr. Khalid he gives us all what we ask
