Running head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND CONSUMERISM ANALYSIS 1

Consumer Behavior and Consumerism Analysis

Name

Institution
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Consumer Behavior and Consumerism Analysis

According to (Uusitalo & Oksanen, 2004), recently, ethical consumerism has emerged as
an ideology embraced by consumer organizations, primarily in Western nations. Both companies
and consumers play a major role in supporting ethics in manufacturing and commerce. The key
obstacles to ethical consumerism seem to be challenging in accessing data, the accessibility
to ethical goods, and the inflated prices of these items. Consumers' knowledge of ethics must be
strengthened by empowering them with education and accurate information. Consumer ethics
must become a standard in social structure, preceded in the same manner as other moral values
or incorporeal regulations. It is also important to emphasize the role of customers as sponsors of
ethical trade. If buyers do not require companies to supply ethical products, companies are
inclined to eliminate ethical goods from their product portfolio. Social responsibility can never
be separated from making a profit. It will be impossible for businesses to commit to eliminating
moral inequalities in global trade if corporate responsibility proves out to be uneconomic.
Therefore, a firm attempting to portray an impression of ethical behavior ought to invest
extensively in creating this picture, while images of immoral firms can only emerge from
periodic speculation. However, with the recent availability of technology and the changing of
ethical principle orientations, this knowledge has evolved. Media attention to unethical events
can reinforce the perceptions of buyers. Consumers continue to be cautious and cynical about
ethical allegations and find it safer to assume that companies are immoral than ethical. The
picture's function is significant. Companies need to demonstrate more obvious that they have
ethical conventions. They may gain greater ability to use ethics as a tool, or the basis for
distinction and competitive edge. There is a risk; nevertheless, that values can only be employed
as a marketing ploy or illustration that does not have any meaning in the behavior of the
organization.
On the other hand, according to (Carrington, Neville, & Whitwell, 2010), ethically
minded buyers occasionally put ethical brands in their shopping carts, irrespective of their ethical
motives. This trend is inadequately comprehended in the framework of ethical consumerism,
notwithstanding its crucial character. In addressing the aggregate disparity between the ethical
perceptions of ethically witted buyers and their frequently non-ethical purchasing actions, ethical
consumerism researchers have largely failed to take into account that, with few exemptions,
motives are not a dependable proxy for individual conduct. Comprehending the function of
application motives in ethically minded buyers’ intention–behavior discrepancy provides a rich
marketing framework to create an efficient approach.
By resolving the gap encouraging morally oriented customers to devise such clear
implementation strategies can have a significant beneficial impact. Likewise, recognizing ABC's
influence on the ethically minded purpose–conduct gap offers fruitful ground for marketing
approach and modulation. Depending on an ABC comprehension, efficient marketing strategies
could include, influencing others within the family to guarantee collaboration on ethical buying
objectives, and offering precise knowledge and information to these customers to make
knowledgeable choices.
However, this view and understanding have shifted where the consumers spend more
time assessing the effects of the utilization of given products. Recently, customers spend more
time doing research, especially when they are purchasing products online. Additionally, the
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND CONSUMERISM ANALYSIS 3

information concerning the ethical conduct for various companies is currently available online,
and as a result, consumers focus on the given data. This means that the data offerings mentioned
in this theory are already available to the consumers which significantly influences the
consumer’s choices in their shopping experiences.
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References
Carrington, M. J., Neville, B. A., & Whitwell, G. J. (2010). Why Ethical Consumers Don’t
Walk Their Talk: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Gap Between the Ethical
Purchase Intentions and Actual Buying Behaviour of Ethically Minded
Consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(1), 139-158. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0501-6
Uusitalo, O., & Oksanen, R. (2004). Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland. International
Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(3), 214-221. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2003.00339.x