Consumer Societies Flashcards
(28 cards)
Define Consumer societies
Societies in which consumer culture is the dominant force
Which societies are consumer societies
Nearly all societies
Commodification
Treating something as mere commodity (interchangeable good)
In developed countries, role of shopping has taken on dramatic new meaning. Explain
Since invention of department stores in 19th century France, trends towards recreational and luxury shopping have continued to grow
How did shopping used to be for most of human history
+
What 2 things did invention of department stores change
Most of human history:
Anonymous commodification hasn’t happened yet: used to know sellers
Changes through department stores invention:
1. Expensive store became accessible to public
2. First time prices were set
Developed countries are the Center of…
+
Give example
The global culture of consumption -> consumption choices influenced global style
E.g. blue jeans
Global culture of consumption is marked by 2 things
- Over-supply of all sorts of goods including symbolic goods
- Brands as symbolic resources for construction of identity
In developed countries, individuals are encouraged to…
Adopt a non-utilitarian attitude towards commercial goods and services and to carefully choose, arrange, adapt, and display goods to
> make stylistic statements that expresses their individual, presumably authentic identity of the owner
What is a trend regarding services we are currently seeing
+ give example
Moving toward a dematerialized service economy
-> trend toward services rather than manufactured goods
E.g. CDs to streamed music
Define services
A service is also an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally take place in interactions between the customer and service employees and/or physical resources or goods and/or system of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems
3 attributes of goods and services
- Search attributes: can easily evaluate before use
-
Experience attributes: cannot evaluate before use
- must purchase and use first
- can evaluate during or after consumption -
Credence attributes: difficult to evaluate even after use
- complexity, expertise (did doctor actual know what they’re doing?)
What makes it difficult to evaluate service quality
Services have a high proportion of experience attributes and credence attributes
name four distinctive characteristics of services
(that also make it difficult to control services for quality)
- Intangibility
- Inseparability
- variability
- perishability
Explain the characteristic of services:
1. Intangibility (+example)
- services can’t be seen, tasted, touched, heard, or smelled without experience (or even then)
-> cannot be perceived by he five senses (visual, auditory, olfactory, taste, touch)
e.g. Effect of plastic surgery or talking to counselor
In order to decrease uncertainty of services (2 points)l
- create an image and “prove” service quality
-
physical evidence and presentation
(people, place, equipment, communication material, symbols, price)
Explain the characteristic of services:
2. Inseparability (+ example)
Services cant be separated from service provider AND other customers
e.g. a flight is worse cuz of neighbours elbow
Which two elements lead to services being inseparable
-
Production and consumption occur simultaneously
- Service provider becomes part of service
> customers may have strong preference for specific service provider -
Interaction between provider and customers is key
- other customers who are present during service may also influence perceived quality
Due to inseparability, demand may concentrate on specific service provider. Three measures can be taken.
- Set higher prices or reduce time spent on service
- Group people for simultaneous service provision
- More training for other service providers
Explain service characteristic of Variability
difficult to maintain consistent quality when providing services
- service quality varies based on who, when, and where it is provided
(Buyers often use WOM when choosing provider)
3 steps to increasing quality control
- invest in good hiring and training procedures
- Standardize the service-performance process (manuals)
- monitor customer satisfaction
Explain the perishability characteristic of services (2 examples)
Services cannot be “saved” and be provided or used at a later time
- cannot be inventoried
When demand is high, the perishability of services leads to problems through which two points can they be manageabley
- managing Timing of demand
- Balancing maximum capacity vs unutilized supply
- public transportation
(must have capacity to meet rush hour peak demand)
- e-commerce
(If too many ppl access site at same time (over-capacity) - servers will go down)
When it comes to services, brands are…os
embodiment of promises of what they’ll provide for you
-> difficult to trust sth that’s not tangible (service)
Our consumption is shifting away from …. towards …..
Shifting away from goods and toward services
