Concept, Types, Characteristics and Behavior

We explain to you that it is a consumer, the types that exist and their difference with a client.In addition, their characteristics and behavior.

The consumer satisfies their needs by exchanging money for goods and services.

What is a consumer?

In economics, one of the economic agents involved in the production chain is called a consumer .Every consumer has a series of needs to meet, and does so thanks to the exchange of money for the goods and services offered that you want, and provided by a producer or supplier.

Consumers are usually the last peldano of the production chain.They are who buy the product or service already prepared and who use it.

They are therefore buyers.The consumer is advertising their promotional and motivational efforts towards consumption, and marketing or marketing studies the consumption patterns presented by your specific community.

In the different legal systems of the different countries, is granted to consumers a series of rights , which translate into being protected from fraudulent modes of sale or coercive, unfair or fallacious methods of marketing.

In some economic theories it is preferred to use the term prosumer , referring to consumers who are, at the same time, producers.

But it is important to note that the consumer is not a passive entity that simply buys what they offer .On the contrary: it plays a very active role in the selection of the offer, is able to model companies according to their needs and spending preferences.

It can serve you: Customer Service.

Consumer types

The personal consumer buys what he needs in his daily life.

We can talk about two types of consumers, classified according to their membership or not to an organization larger than themselves:

• Personal consumer: One who buys what he needs in his daily life and thinks about himself and his family nucleus only.


• Organizational consumer.The one who buys for a company, institution or entire organization, or that takes into account the needs of a business that runs or participates.

Similarly, consumers can be classified according to their location in the consumer chain, as follows:

• Final consumers.Those who give use to the goods or services purchased and who will exhaust their need for them once they have done so.They are the final peldano of the chain.


• Intermediate consumers.Those who are an intermediate link in the chain and not the end, that is, who buy to later develop a new product with it and sell it, or who buy to resell merchandise at a higher price (usually called resellers ).These consumers do not exhaust their need for consumption, but constantly renew it (reverse it).

Difference between customer and consumer

The difference between a customer and a consumer has to do with the process called loyalty , and that is a consumer's continued preference for a particular brand or product , to which he is “loyal.” Yes, a loyal consumer would be a customer of the brand, while the rest of the market continues to be consumers.

Companies today are committed to creating customers , rather than having a market full of consumers, since the latter can vary in their modes of consumption and can be erratic in their purchasing behavior.

Consumer characteristics

Current consumers are very different from those in early capitalism.The technological revolution changed them as much as the market in which they operate.Yes, broadly speaking we could say that they respond to the following characteristics :

• It is connected.The current consumer manages the Internet as the favorite place to search for products and services, to the point that 63% of women and 77% of adult men do not spend more than an hour without connecting with your cell phones.


• The opinion is important.Current consumers share everything: their experiences, their opinions, and they like to feel taken into account.Social networks and culture 2.0 allowed the gap between business and client to be shortened, and today's consumers are not willing to give up to it.


• Fast (un) loyalty.Current consumers are quick in their choice of consumption, identify quickly with the brands that are handled in their language and know how to take it into account, but with the same speed they can give it up and change to another if it fails to meet your expectations.


• Immediacy demand.Long waiting times and slow communication channels have no place in the imaginary of the contemporary consumer.Everything must be quick and instant.


• Pursue authenticity.More than products and goods, it demands original experiences and seeks to feel safe from deceptive advertising.It demands loyalty to its companies and in return offers to be an exclusive client.

Consumer behavior

Consumers change their way of consuming: the current ones are very different from those of early capitalism.The technological revolution changed us as much as the market and the dynamics in which we developed.Therefore, studies and reviews of consumer behavior are carried out from time to time.

These studies analyze the way in which consumers search, buy, use, dry out and evaluate their products and services for daily or eventual use, for which the tools of the marketing and financial analysis (among other disciplines such as psychology, for example).

The objective of any evaluation of consumer behavior is to establish how you prefer to invest your money, time and effort, and mobilize the productive apparatus to provide you with a more consistent and satisfactory consumption experience, which results in your preference or loyalty for a brand, a product or a trend.