Consumers

INTRODUCTION

Consumer behaviour and consumer decision-making have become prominent research topics in the various fields of consumer science in recent years. Consumer science includes the former discipline of home economics and refers to a discipline that evolves around consumer behaviour and decision making concerning foods and nutrition, clothing and textiles, housing and interior merchandise in everyday living in order to meet basic and higher order needs for physical, psychological, sociopsychological and financial satisfaction in a complex micro and macro environment. Of specific importance is that buying and consumer decision making are complicated as a result of external influences that have to be handled within an internal frame of reference that has come about through consumer socialization (that may be/have been restricted). Consumer behaviour within the discipline of consumer science focuses on consumption behaviour where the humane aspect of decision making and purchasing is of major importance as opposed to buyer behaviour the domain of the...