For a long time, businesses have used consumer behavior as a basis for marketing. And lately, with the advancement of computing technologies, they have been more aggressively studying consumer behavior, motives, intentions, sentiments, and trends. Moreover, they collect our information online to understand us, even without our knowledge.
If we look for shoes online, many shoe advertisements will pop up on our screens immediately after. These pop-ups are because everything we search, read, and explore online reflects information about us. Companies collect this data to sell things without us realizing it. So next time you get a phone call asking to invest in a scheme, do not wonder how they got to you. Businesses have streamlined data collection about their customers and analyzed the existing consumer behavior to advance their interests.
Businesses use trends of consumer activities during natural festivals or “created festivals” like “Super Tuesdays” or “Savvy Thursdays”. We purchase many necessities and more because we are convinced to buy them. Businesses use festivals to push sales of anything and everything. So, they make use of consumer culture year after year every year. As a result, most people buy too much than their actual necessities.
Festivals have changed from a time to delight in life to when consumption skyrockets. The founders initiated all celebrations to recharge people, and there were no intentions of introducing materiality in these observations. However, consumerism has overshadowed the real purpose of festivals. And festivals have become occasions to show others rather than something that serves us and our well-being.
Consumer culture gets a lift during the holiday seasons as shopping culture endures. It happens on a large scale where the entire population follows the same direction and displays similar behaviors. Consumer culture is the idea of the mass, the pattern of the mass, and the trend of the mass, evolving collectively and gradually.
Consumer culture is the idea of the mass, the pattern of the mass, and the trend of the mass, evolving collectively and gradually.
Consumerism has evolved as a consumer culture that encourages spending, and increased spending means decreased savings or rising debt. Declining savings or reliance on debt means deteriorating financial security.
Consumer culture has brought companies as the drivers of civilization. These entities have exploited natural and human resources on enormous scales historically. However, we massively rely on them to restore sustainability. In the present context, the operation of a company plays a decisive role in determining the planet’s well-being.
Similarly, consumer culture has narrowed governments’ positions as facilitators and regulators of the economic system. For example, all governments inherently plan to increase economic activities by encouraging household spending to boost their revenues through taxation. Also, consumer culture encourages us to spend. But unfortunately, more spending means more carbon footprint and more waste going to landfills.
Consumer culture encourages us to spend. But unfortunately, more spending means more carbon footprint and more waste going to landfills.
The developing consumer culture that primarily encourages spending more resists the sustainability agenda. Our expenses are the payments for different economic activities that support us. As a result, all financial activities have carbon footprints. Because we are yet to evolve to a stage where our economic activities are carbon-neutral, we should be aware of our needs and luxuries. If we spend more than we need, we put unnecessary pressure on the planet.
We claim to have big hearts and open minds. If true, we must reduce our selfishness and adopt a sustainable lifestyle as responsible consumers. As this is about a paradigm shift, we need to understand how we are selfish and irresponsible and shift towards eliminating them.