CONSUMER MOVEMENT βœ…

πŸ›οΈ Nature and Characteristics of the Consumer Movement

πŸ“œ What is the Consumer Movement?

The consumer movement is a collective social effort designed to educate and unite consumers, empowering them to fight for the protection of their rights against unfair business practices.

β€œConsumerism is an organized movement of citizens and government to impose the rights and powers of buyers in relation to sellers.”

β€” Philip Kotler & G. Armstrong

πŸ“‹ Key Features of the Consumer Movement

1. Voluntary Movement

This is a voluntary and collective initiative of consumers. In essence, it is a movement of the consumers, by the consumers, and for the consumers. A group of active individuals comes forward, forms a union, and advocates for the community's well-being.

2. Protection of Rights

The primary objective of the consumer movement is to ensure that the business community and government agencies guarantee and enforce the legitimate rights of all consumers.

3. Strength of Unity

Consumerism acts as a powerful social force. It aims to protect consumer rights by applying coordinated legal and social pressure on the business community to act responsibly.

4. Comprehensive Scope

Every person is a consumer of goods and services. Today, the concept of consumerism is not limited to commercial products; it also extends to public utilities and essential services like banking, transportation, telecommunications, and healthcare.

5. Prevention of Unethical Practices

As a voluntary association, one of its core objectives is to prevent businesses from engaging in unethical practices such as black-marketing, price gouging, and general exploitation of consumers.

6. Enforcing Consumer Rights

The movement actively works to enforce the four fundamental rights of consumers: the Right to Safety, the Right to be Informed, the Right to Choose, and the Right to Redress (be heard and seek resolution).