Hidden costs of consumption

Consumers often underestimate the costs resulting from their consumer decisions. This is especially the case when purchasing durable consumer goods, but also for recreational activities, for which e.g. athletic equipment is bought. A similar situation exists when pets are kept. This disregard for the costs of subsequent use connected with the purchase of household appliances is problematic for consumers. In a study on the usage life of consumer goods¹ in the household, it was recognized that many consumers do not pay attention to these subsequent costs. The decisive consumer problem was not the durability of consumer goods, nor their tendency to become defective, but the resulting costs of the purchase, the operating costs of household appliances. On one hand, the working expenses are not considered at the time of purchase and their effect is not included in the purchase decision. On the other, the operating costs vary greatly, depending on the chosen type and model of appliance and, of course, on the specific form of utilization. In this paper, the question of the durability of consumer goods is first discussed with the help of empirical work. Then the hidden resulting costs, i.e. operating costs or costs of usage of consumer goods, are described. The resulting costs of keeping pets are also discussed. In the final part, the question of objective help for the consumer making purchase decisions is discussed.     

Shopping from a List: International Studies of Consumer Online Experiences

In response to the growth of online shopping, consumer groups from around the world participated in two mystery shopping exercises. These exercises, conducted during the Christmas holiday seasons of 1998 and 2000, involved buying a variety of products from web sites located both domestically and abroad. A number of serious problems were identified within the research, especially lack of disclosure of key consumer information and failures in delivering goods and refunding consumers when goods were returned. The research has been used by consumer organizations to enhance consumer education and to lobby governmental and self-regulatory bodies for greater consumer protection in the online environment.     

What Do We Really Need? Goals and Values,Security, and the Perception of Consumer Necessity

There is a general trend for consumer goods considered luxuries to become thought of as necessities. Although the luxury/necessity distinction is central to the fields of marketing and economics, little research has examined the perception of necessity as a psychological phenomenon. Three studies examined the relationship of the perceived necessity of a variety of consumer goods to goals, values, and insecurity. In Study 1, the number of goods considered necessities as opposed to luxuries correlated negatively with intrinsic and positively with extrinsic goal pursuit. In Study 2, this pattern generalized to the distinction between needs and wants, the extent to which participants reported needing their possessions, and to materialistic values. In Study 3, the perception of necessity mediated the relationship between anxious attachment and materialism, suggesting that needing consumer products has in part a basis in interpersonal insecurity. In turn, it may facilitate materialistic consumption.     

色谱质谱技术在消费品安全检测中的应用进展

随着REACH、RoHS等各类法规的持续出台及人们对消费品安全问题的不断重视,日用消费品中有毒有害物质检测成为近年来分析化学的研究热点。本文以邻苯二甲酸类增塑剂、有机锡类化合物为例,回顾了色谱质谱技术在消费品（如纺织品、电子电气产品、涂料、木制品等）安全检测中的应用情况,并对未来的研究方向做了初步展望。     

Multi-channel store image and the effects on purchase intention

Consumer practices of purchasing goods and services through multiple channels versus a single channel have become common and reflect a change in purchase behaviours. This study identifies six dimensions of the multi-channel store image and proposes that they have positive effects on purchase intention and consumer characteristics moderate the relationship. A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to shoppers of two bookstores in Taiwan. A structural model tested the direct effects of the multi-channel store image on purchase intention, and that the moderating effects of consumer characteristics. The results suggest that four of the six dimensions – financial concern, psychosocial concern, time and convenience, and usefulness influence purchase intention. Consumer characteristics (age, gender, education, occupation) did not moderate the relationship.     

消费品市场信用缺失的博弈分析

当前我国的整个市场特别是消费品市场存在着严重的信用缺失问题,对消费者的身心造成了极大的伤害.市场经济是信用经济,诚信原则是市场经济的灵魂和基础,重建消费品市场诚信环境,维护消费者权益是当务之急.信用是博弈的结果,从消费者与企业、企业与监管部门的博弈可以找到消费品市场信用缺失产生的原因.针对问题,可以对症下药,从根源上进行治理:建立高效的信息传输机制;完善法律体系,加大监督执法力度,建立高额赔偿金制度,让造假者付出高昂的成本;深化产权制度改革,使产权所有者具有进行重复博弈的动力,而着眼于长远利益.     

The Alien Past: Consumer Culture in Historical Perspective

The profound transformations in everyday life that have accompanied the advent of a global consumer culture have rendered the past as alien; our own ancestors occupied a realm as foreign as those we encounter when we travel. As virtually everything has become a commodity, modern values – labor-saving, convenience, cleanliness, fashion, and newness itself – have become primary considerations for purchasing. Those values were transmitted in the initial advertising for mass-produced consumer goods. They contributed to the altered relationships with our bodies and with the material world that accompanied the shift from production-driven to consumption-driven cultures. Historicizing these issues – understanding and embracing the concept of change over time – fosters the development of a critical perspective. That perspective is intrinsically complicated, since describing change in these arenas requires acknowledging that new ways have always coexisted with old.     

浅议我国快速消费品物流市场问题

随着我国经济的发展和人们生活水平的提高,快速消费品行业近几年来呈现迅猛发展的状态,快速消费品的物流市场也越来越引起了人们的关注。本文从分析快速消费品物流市场的特点入手,对我国快速消费品行业当前运行的物流模式进行了概括总结,分析了我国快速消费品物流市场存在的问题,提出了针对我国快速消费品物流系统如何进行改进的建议。     

中国消费品出口贸易规模与结构分析

20世纪90年代以来,我国消费品出口贸易迅速发展,占全部出口贸易值的比重持续上升,目前已超过60％,在出口贸易中占有重要地位。今后,中国消费品出口贸易规模将稳步扩大,但占全部出口商品的比重将有所下降;消费类电子电器等资本技术密集型消费品占全部出口消费品的比重继续上升,其他劳动密集型消费品所占比重继续下降,中国消费品出口贸易结构继续优化。     

Consumer values,motivation and purchase intention for luxury goods

There is considerable ambivalence in how different societies and cultures relate to the consumption of luxury goods. Thinly focused in the literature are Islamic societies (with rapidly emerging ‘super-rich’ consumer segments) where the concept of luxury may be in tension with religious values. Set against this background, this paper investigates how consumer values and motivation influence purchase intentions towards luxury goods. Based on a sample of 400 respondents drawn from Morocco and applying logistic regression models, the paper finds correlations between the intention to buy luxury goods, motivation and personal values. Paradoxically, the influence of religion appears to diminish as consumer affordability of luxury goods increase. Partly due to globalization of markets and impacts on consumer values, Moslems are not fundamentally different from western consumers with regard to predispositions towards luxury consumption. Potential impacts of religion on luxury consumption attitudes and personal values appear to be moderated by the global consumer culture. The results also show an important gender underpinning especially when considered alongside perceived gender biases in consumption decision-making in many Islamic countries. Regarding the nature of purchase behavior women were found to be more positively disposed to impulse purchasing of luxury goods compared to men while more educated people, generally, indicated a greater tendency towards rational than impulse buying decisions.     

The dark side of innovation: How new SKUs affect brand choice in the presence of consumer uncertainty and learning

New product activity is critical for sustained success of consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. However, the impact of new SKUs on the perceived quality, quality uncertainty and subsequent choice of the brand as a whole is, as of yet, not well understood. The authors study how new additions to the brand line shape consumers’ quality perceptions, and how this – next to the mere line length effect – influences their choice of brands over time. They do so in the setting of an emerging market (China), where new product activity is particularly pervasive. Using a unique scanner panel dataset of Chinese households over the period 2011–2014, they estimate a Bayesian learning model that accommodates varying quality, on two CPG categories, and for two types of new-product additions (new sensory SKUs vs. new non-sensory SKUs). They show that while adding new SKUs may lift the brand’s perceived quality level, it also makes consumers more uncertain about the quality of the brand – dampening their brand choice. This holds especially for light customers – an important part of the brand clientele. Managerial implications are discussed.     

中国新奢侈品营销策略研究

目前,中国正成为世界上重要而且快速增长的新奢侈品消费市场。新奢侈品消费已经显示出消费群体以中产阶层为主、消费形式网络化、情感体验型消费、消费由一线城市向二三线城市扩张等特征。基于新奢侈品利用新的消费者心理,将高质量商品消费大众化,将消费的物品提升为一种新的体验和享乐的趋势,中国应根据自身独特环境来选择适合的营销策略,采取突出品牌个性,加快整合多种传播渠道,实施差异化品牌传播与体验式营销,发展品牌战略联盟等措施。优化产品营销规划,正确引导消费者进行理性选择,推动消费升级。并在全球市场竞争中立于不败之地。     

When businesses oppose businesses in support of consumerist goals

The study of consumer politics has focused primarily on those instances in which consumer and business interests have been in conflict. When this occurs, consumer groups are generally perceived as the weaker of the two contestants due to the difficulties of mobilizing groups in support of public goods (the classic free rider problem). One mechanism by which consumer groups appear to improve their political prospects is the formation of coalitions with one set of business groups to help oppose a second set of business groups. This paper classifies these consumer-business coalitions and analyses their political significance.

     

区域商贸流通发展与公路交通水平计量分析

基于灰色关联模型的计量分析,发现地区商贸流通业发展与公路交通基础设施水平具有较强的关联性:在公路里程、公路客运量、公路货运量和民用汽车拥有量中,民用汽车拥有量是最重要的影响因素,公路货运量次之;在社会消费品零售总额、市的零售额、县的零售额、县以下的零售额、批发和零售业零售额、住宿和餐饮业零售额中,公路交通基础设施对县以下的零售额的影响程度最大,对批发和零售业零售额的影响程度次之。     

电子商务视阈下的农户诚信经营意识：强化还是弱化？——来自江苏沭阳的证据

在中国，已有大量农户借助电商平台参与网络营销。平台企业构建了一套制度体系确保网络交易的顺利开展。与此同时，网络假货问题成为社会热点。一个有趣的问题是，电子商务的发展究竟是强化还是弱化了农户的诚信经营意识？理论上讲，平台型电子商务既存在强化经营者诚信经营意识的正向机制，也存在弱化经营者诚信经营意识的负向机制，前者源自消费者维权机制以及卖家行为管制的制度设计，后者源自平台型电子商务一定程度上为售假提供了便利渠道。文章基于江苏省沭阳县954个农户的调查数据，采用倾向得分匹配法进行实证检验，结果显示，电子商务采纳对农户诚信经营意识有着显著的积极影响，不同角度所进行的稳健性检验也都得到一致的结论。研究还发现，电子商务采纳对受教育程度较低、品牌化意识较弱以及网店经营期限较长的农户的诚信经营意识具有更强的促进效应。     

Experience,change and vulnerability: consumer education for older people revisited

Everyday consumer transactions have the same potential for unexpected consequence whatever the age of the consumers involved. Young and old alike can find that products and services fail to live up to performance claims and that they are left with problems not easily resolved, or costs that are difficult to recover. While not overlooking consumer heterogeneity – especially on the basis of age – older consumers are arguably distinguishable in terms of the social and financial context in which they make decisions and attempt to redress problems. In 1988, attention was drawn to the need for consumer education to look beyond generic objectives to the specific situation of older people and their transactions. More than a decade later, in an allegedly consumer‐oriented society, the issue is revisited here to assess the argument's current relevance. Despite the increased availability of information for decisions and consumer protection, difficulties persist in the way information is presented or accessed. Chameleon‐like, old problems become manifest in new unfamiliar ways and invalidate experience. Consumer education today is as important as it was in 1988. Arguably, technological change means that the need for a better understanding of dangers, rights and redress procedures is greater than ever and the needs of older people in increasingly complex private and public sector transaction environments are all the more pressing. However, a fundamental revision of the way we approach the design of products, services and environments is needed to improve prospects for older consumers.     

Modeling Determinants of Cross Border Trade in Counterfeit Goods

Production and trade in counterfeit products has become an estimated $60 billion a year industry. The existence of markets for bogus goods has far reaching consequences in areas of public policy, international relations, balance of payments, corporate profits and taxes, and consumer welfare. Despite these issues, little scholarly research has been conducted in this area. The authors propose a model to explain international trade in counterfeits as a framework for research.     

我国对“一带一路”沿线国家出口态势浅析

"一带一路"倡议的实施不仅改善了外部发展环境,更是成为新常态下外贸提质增效的战略支撑。笔者基于我国对"一带一路"沿线国家的出口数据分析,揭示三大态势:一是初级产品与工业制成品出口双增长,但制成品出口中沿线国家所占份额趋于稳定,而初级产品出口中沿线国家占比不断上升;二是工业制成品中劳动密集型产品出口下滑而高新技术产品出口增势明显;三是对东盟出口中间品与进口最终消费品保持较快增长。进一步分析表明,上述三大态势缘自"一带一路"背景下我国对外直接投资的发展、经济增长方式的转型以及东亚分工体系的调整。     

Some Notes on Current Problems of Foreign Economic Relations of Russia

This paper discusses developments on the trade front in Russia since the deep structural crisis during the 90s which significantly affected the dynamics and structure of Russian foreign trade. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a major part of the Soviet Union’s internal trade has become a component of Russia’s foreign trade, the ‘export versus import’ structure in Russia has deteriorated, and there has been a rapid increase in the export of energy resources and metals, however, the export of high‐technology products, including those in the defence sectors, have actually been reduced. The opening of boundaries in the domestic market has resulted in saturation with foreign‐made consumer goods, machinery, and equipment all of which have hindered national development.     

Why buy new when one can share? Exploring collaborative consumption motivations for consumer goods

The notion of collaborative consumption or sharing economy—where consumers share access to ownership of properties such as cars, clothes and accommodations—has gained tremendous popularity in recent years. Development of communication technologies and peer‐to‐peer communities has enabled consumers to coordinate sharing activities through various online platforms. Collaborative consumption involves sharing of both intangible (e.g., music, space and car rides) and tangible assets (e.g., household items, clothes and furniture). Activities such as renting, swapping, trading and purchasing/selling used consumer goods are included in the latter. Despite increasing academic attention on collaborative consumption, little research has been pursued in the context of consumer goods. The nature of consumption for tangible goods can be entirely different from that of intangible goods because people can exercise greater control over tangible goods, which results in greater psychological ownership than that for intangible goods. To address this gap, the objective of this study is to develop a scale that examines consumer motivations for collaborative consumption of consumer goods. Following Churchill's paradigm of scale development, the procedures of scale item generation, purification and validation were conducted via in‐depth interviews, literature review and surveys. The study identified five underlying dimensions of collaborative consumption of consumer goods: concern‐for‐sustainability, social, variety‐seeking, fun and cost‐saving. Study findings and implications are discussed, and future research avenues are suggested.