The INDEPENDENT Consumer
Hi, and WELCOME to my site!
I hope you'll find it informative and useful.
First of all, let me introduce myself...
I am human (funny when those social bookmarking sites give you the captcha odd word type-in quiz to make sure you're one); Asian; 30 to 49 years old; female; single; college graduate; working full time; leasing but working my way to mortgage; annual income private; with more than one dependent (an elderly over 60 years of age, or a minor under 18 years of age). That in essence is my market demographic.
Now that you know enough information about me, there's one thing I'd like to confess:
I am a ravenous consumer. And I am not alone.
Almost all of us are ravenous consumers in more ways than one. In the 24 hours that we have in a day, just think how many of those are spent on the idea and actual action of "consuming." Living is consuming, and consuming is inevitable. In my (and everyone else's) day-to-day existence, products, products and more products have starring roles.
To categorize my brand of consumerism, I have chosen to label myself as an “independent consumer." And this self-branding entails voluminous texts of explanations, as it pertains to MY consumer profile and with that, my pattern of “consuming” - from identifying what I need, planning the purchase, making the purchase and the end-all and be-all and the point of the whole exercise: consuming (using) the products or in the case of services, availing (experiencing) it.
What Is An INDEPENDENT CONSUMER?
Independent consumers, as oppose to "dependent" consumers, are characterized by a pattern of decision-making involving actual purchase and long-term use of a product or service that is not influenced by factors commonly believed to shape one's perception and standards of what and what not to buy or patronize (in the case of services).
As there are consumer education, independent consumers believe there is also a need for "marketer" education (l have used the term "marketer" to refer to the general group of products and services providers involve in all the product or service marketing process- from manufacturer to distributor to actual sellers) on what actually drives consumer purchase, and long-term loyalty, as well as non-purchase and the fickle tides and turns involving actual purchase and patronage.
As a voice for the many independent consumers out there, hear my simple, humble, basic yet true and realistic analysis of consumerism, with facts that are washed clean of impurities and hanged under sunlight in open air for everyone else to really see and appreciate.
So what really are Independent Consumers? Actually, more than "what" defines us, Independent Consumers are more shaped by "why" we purchase.
Why AM I (and almost all the people I know who share my demographic profile) AN INDEPENDENT CONSUMER?
1. I am an independent consumer because my product and service choices are not based on any systematic side-by-side comparisons (like what those online sites for Palm Tungsten or Canon digital cameras present the potential buyer).
For most consumer index profilers, the average consumer (I'd like to think of myself as one) common sense dictates that price, quality and quantity are the basic factors in choosing the best products available in the market. More affordable? Check! More bubbles and therefore, more cleaning power? Check! Content goes up to neck bottle as against competitor's shoulder level? Check! Easier said than done!
How can one have a definitive metric system of measurement for count and mass nouns and reconcile them with one's personal measurement of goods (and even services)? Not to mention one's perception of what is “effective”? From a rabid consumer's point of view (read: mine), these purchase basis concepts are all personal and experiential, or simply, too impractically general.
For instance, a 200 ml liquid detergent would make for 5 loads of wash (1 full hamper each load). Consumer A has a medium-sized hamper, Consumer B has a really huge hamper. Consumer C has both hamper sizes, the medium one stacked more than what Consumer A has, and the huge hamper has less of what Consumer B cramped into her hamper. So who makes the correct measurement that the liquid detergent manufacturer had in mind? What makes that liquid detergent better than other brands, or a powdered detergent for that matter? The arguments can go and on and one never really arrives at a realistic measure of “affordable,” “high-quality” and “more.”
That is why, tags like “50 ml more,” or “cheaper by the dozen”, or “can be used as a toilet bowl cleaner too!” does not work for me. (I think I would even ran out of it for washing clothes, why would I use it to go clean my toilet bowl? And goodness, any kind or brand of soap would do that thing, it doesn't have to be that liquid detergent!)
2. As an independent consumer, my consumer actions are not based on advertising fireworks.
I love advertisements. As I child, I grew up singing along with those commercials I hear over and over again on TV and radio (“Sunny Orange makes me ... (I forgot that part) Sunny Orange super quality! (if ever that was the correct lyrics); “And we all can agree that with sweet harmony, tomorrow...Coca Cola to share... and build a better world for you”Coca-Cola TVC featuring the very young singer-actress Lilet). In college, sitting beside the most flawless boy in class, I found myself humming to the tune of “Caronia... Caronia... your beauty shows... with Ca-ro-ni-yaaaaaa!” How can I be so unimpressive?) (a
Yet still, when I got to the 'consumer age,” where I am actually making the decision on what to buy, and actually spending my own money for it (I would put my legitimate consumer age somewhere between 18, when I first started working as an editorial assistant, and 23, when I first tried living on my own, or what others would call the “studio-type phase”) I tended to buy Eight O'clock powdered juice in packets despite the availability of those classic Sunny Orange bottles. About a decade after the Eight O'clock prime, I now go look for the cheapest of the pack, Magnolia Iced Tea label, among the piles of powdered juice sachets in supermarkets.
I love Coke, always and forever, but then, at the family home nowadays, the local soda RC Cola takes the centerstage of the Condura refrigerator, and I find myself not minding if I myself switch to this local soda. The savings angle is only substantiated by my personal observation that they almost look the same dark, heavy-textured liquid (Equally refreshing sodas that they are, Pepsi looks more “translucent” to me, while Zesto Cola appears more “porous” - definitely not Coke. In my own unexplainable consumer psyche, RC Cola looks like Coke, and therefore can be Coke. The slightly sweeter taste need not be a statement of the problem.
3. As an independent consumer, my product choices and brand preferences are ALWAYS based on familiarity that is user- or experienced-based (not so much due to advertising) and what “personally” works for me.
This is true for both products that I grew up using at home, and those that I “discovered” myself.
They say familiarity breeds contempt, but not in my consumer world, where familiarity with a certain product type or brand makes for shorter grocery shopping time and an “all is well with the world” state of consciousness.
For me, a comfortable level of familiar with a certain product or service provider is preceded by a genuine satisfaction from using or availing such products or services, and a genuine (not self-convincing) knowledge that as a consumer, I really get my money's worth (I am deliberately not using “value for money” which to me is a very hardsell marketing jargon, grammatically incorrect, not to mention a marketing cliché). As such, Colgate, Safeguard, Johnson & Johnson, Minola, Coke, Jollibee, SM, Robinsons, Biojesic, Vicks, Canon, Maggi, Nestlé, Reader's Digest, Lucky Me, Magnolia, HBO, Banco de Oro, Ihaw-Ihaw Kalde-Kaldero Kawa-Kawali, Citizen, HP, BPI, GE, Condura, Sharp, Hunts, Ligo, Tiger, Hanes, So-En, and so many other goods, I have bought, tried, tested, used, reused, and patronized over and over again,.
In their product categories, there is an unconscious clamor for these names whenever I make a purchase, whether planned or at random. In the compartmentalized supermarket layouts, they are the ones I consciously sought. In my decision-makings and budget allocations, they almost always make the cut. And there is not much time wasted on the act. Familiar is akin to family. There is peace of mind, reassurance and expectations that are met.
4. Lastly, as an independent consumer, while deliberately not naming a product, brand or label that I, personally, is not satisfied with or would not recommend (an exercise of my conscious regard in observing the unwritten laws of a writer's ethics, respect for product manufacturers and service providers, and concern for businesses which is a key component of a strong market economy), I will freely name specific products, brands, labels, manufacturers, services, and service providers as I deem it necessary to illustrate, explain and give credence to my consumer preferences, decision-making, perceptions, views and opinions. In naming such, it does not mean I am putting down the competitor, the second competitor, or those in the other competitor lines. I emphasized that, while my choices, views and opinions are, in my analysis and humble research, reflections of the habits, preferences and deeply rooted behavioral patterns of an average consumer, they are personal and experiential, based on years of being a consumer and breathing the literal essence of the term consumerism.
