Sue L. T. McGregor PhD Professor
Faculty of Education
Mount Saint Vincent University
Halifax NS Canada
McGregor Consulting Group
www.consultmcgregor.com
Consumer Interest Defined
 If something is of interest to people, it benefits
them or gives them an advantage.
 Succinctly, it is in the best interest of
consumers (to their benefit or advantage) to
have marketplace failures (the conditions
that affect the realization of their interests)
and resultant consumer issues (if a power
imbalance arises) dealt with effectively and
expediently, in a sustainable manner.
Consumer Interest Defined con’t
‘what constitutes the consumer interest’ has
broadened from a focus on the direct
relationship between consumers and sellers
to include major social issues, exacerbated
by economic and fiscal policies as well as
corporate and marketing behavior. These
public interest issues with consumer
overtones include, but are not limited to,
pollution, social welfare, poverty, health
care, telecommunications, and tariffs and
trade.
Interest
Nature of the Consumer Interest
Consumer-Business Imbalances
(Marketplace Failures)
 Marketplace – Latin merk, various
aspects of economics, public space or
arena
 Failure – Latin mal, wrongly or badly
 Marketplace failures is a modern day
term referring to when trade arenas
malfunction
 The market ‘fails’ consumers if
something goes wrongly or badly before,
during or after a market transaction.
This type of ‘harm’ occurs due to an
imbalance in the power relationship
between consumers and businesses.
Things can go wrong in a market
transaction for a number of other reasons:
 Developments in the external context (social,
political, technological, economic)
 People’s values and belief systems
 (Mis)management of family household resources
(e.g., credit, debt, savings, wealth, retirement,
insurance)
 Inadequate or non-existent consumer protection
legislation and regulations
 Ability and propensity (or not) to be consumer
advocates
Things that can go wrong
 Inequity and unfairness during the
transactional process (disreputable
behaviour)
 Inefficiency in distribution of resources
(mismanagement by either consumers
and/or business)
 Issues with particular goods or services
 Problems with the overall structure of the
entire marketplace (excessive seller power)
 Vulnerable sectors of consumers (young,
ill, old)
Consumer Rights
 To redress any power imbalance
in the consumer-business
relationship, consumer
advocates spearheaded a social
movement leading to a
collection of eight consumer
rights (1960s-1980s). These
consumer rights are
accompanied with attendant
responsibilities.
Consumer Rights
 Any infringements of these rights, or any irresponsible
consumer actions, can lead to situations that are not
in the best interest of consumers because they:
 (a) have not received any benefits;
 (b) are harmed, injured or left less secure or
unprotected;
 (c) are disadvantaged, exploited or marginalized in some
way (morally, personally, financially); or,
 some combination of these scenarios.
Consumer Issue defined
 If the market economy does not
function properly, it is said to have
failed the consumer (infringed upon
their rights in some way,
compromising their interests),
resulting in a consumer issue
 An issue is an important question,
topic, matter, point of concern, event
or situation (that is, a consumer
problem) that is in dispute,
discussion or debate, and must be
settled.
Eight Consumer Problem Areas
 (a) economic security
 (e) competition
and interest (financial
security and privacy, and
contractual and
transactional fairness);
 (b) health and personal
safety;
 (c) information
asymmetry;
 (d) education (consumer
and general);
(availability, choice,
price and quality of a
range of goods and
services);
 (f) representation in the
policy process;
 (g) redress; and,
 (h) environmental
concerns.
Consumer Protection
 If consumers’ rights are infringed upon and/or if they
act irresponsibly, consumers can be harmed, and
their interests can be compromised.
 Consumer protection frameworks are designed to
prevent businesses that engage in fraud or unfair
practices from gaining an advantage over
competitors, or from harming consumers. These
frameworks often provide additional protection for
the vulnerable consumer (e.g., disadvantaged, unable
to take care of themselves, ill-prepared or
irresponsible).
Consumer Protection Policy
Instruments
 competition policy
 legislation regulating the
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production and provision
of products and services
advertising and marketing
restrictions and
guidelines
consumer education
moral suasion
consultative
partnerships
 consumer information
and programs
 funding for consumer
advocates who represent
the consumer interest in
the private and public
policy arenas
 consumer law and the
legal and judicial
systems
 funded consumer research
Most especially, a consumer perspective

A consumer vantage point privileges the interests of
consumers relative to business, with the intent of shedding
insights into inequities, inefficiencies, malfunctions and
deficiencies in the marketplace. Research generated from,
or interpreted within, a consumer perspective is intended
to aid consumer policy makers, consumer educators and
activists when helping consumers maintain their power in
their relationship with businesses. If this power balance
can be maintained, there is a reduced likelihood of
consumer rights being infringed, consumer issues and
problems arising and the consumer interest being
compromised.
Pull it all together…
Dr. Jenkin (Office of Consumer Affairs) has
identified several features of the consumer
interest research (CIR) situation in Canada:
 There are too few people being socialized into
the next generation of consumer interest
academics
 Existing academics conducting CIR either do
not self-identify as such or are not connected to
each other
 CIR in Canada is perceived as too siloed
 No formal channels for collaboration and
dissemination of CIR – NEED a CIR network
Who could be part of this
Canadian CIR network?
 Seven longstanding (sub) disciplines have
traditionally been involved with CIR
 Eight or more sister disciplines also focus on
aspects of the consumer interest, although they
may not yet self-identify with CIR.
Traditional CIR disciplines
 Consumer Affairs/Protection - policy,
activism, advocacy, representation
 Consumer Science –consumer interactions
within the marketplace (basic science)
 Consumer Studies – consumer interactions
with external systems (eco/soc/pol) while
making decisions (applied science)
Traditional CIR disciplines
fini
 Consumer Economics – household/family
decision making in the marketplace
 Family Economics – economic interactions
within the home (can include work place)
 Consumer Education – empowering people as
market agents and as active, responsible
participants in the marketplace
 Consumer Behaviour – processes/factors
influencing consumer decisions, especially culture,
society and psychology
Possible Sister CIR disciplines
 Home Economics – how consumer decisions and
those of others shape well-being, standard of living and
quality of life in the home
 Economics – how do economies work and how to
economic agents interact – production, distribution
and consumption (market, competition and trade
dynamics)
 Consumer Psychology –internal processes underlying
consumer’s thoughts, feelings, decisions, judgements
and behaviors
Sister CIR disciplines
 Sociology of Consumption –critical analysis of
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consumption and the consumer society as a social problem
History of Consumerism – trajectory of the evolution of
the consumer society, a social-political movement
Business, Management and Marketing – study how and
why people buy (or not) so this process can be influenced
and manipulated to inform business decisions and profits
Political Studies – reveal relationships and dynamics
underlying political events and conditions (government and
governance) as they pertain to consumption
Law – laws govern behaviours; regulation of private
transactions between sellers and consumers (liability, fraud,
misrepresentation, unfair practices)
CIR (sub)
disciplines
• Consumer affairs, studies,
science
• Consumer economics,
family economics,
• Consumer education,
behaviour
Sister CIR
disciplines
• Home economics,
economics, consumer
psychology
• Sociology of
consumption, history of
consumerism
• Business, management,
marketing, law, political
studies
Longstanding