[1] From a conventional marketing perspective, consumer behavior has focused largely on the purchase stage of the total consumption process.
Yet from a social and environmental perspective, consumer behavior needs to be understood as a whole since a product affects all stages of a consumption process.
Buying and consuming an individual product like a cup of coffee might seem such a trivial action that, although it refreshes us, leaves no lasting impression or memory.
However, that action combines with those of other consumers to contribute to the economic success of the coffee retailer, the overall growth in the economy, and the volume of waste with which local government must deal.
Consumption is an economic phenomenon that addresses our individual wants and drives the economy through our collective behavior, but it is also a social and cultural process through which we express our identity and establish our place within society.
Consumers’ purchasing behavior determines the success or failure of new products and services that are marketed on the basis of their sustainability performance.
A survey was conducted in October 2020 by McKinsey & Company in ten countries (primarily in the U.S.) to determine the important factors individuals consider while deciding to purchase a product.
[9] Sustainable packaging was not highly considered compared to price, quality, brand, convenience, as well as food safety and health in regards to the pandemic[clarification needed].
[11] These theories emphasize the economics of sustainable consumption, and how consumers weigh up the functional benefits and relatively affordability of a product and service.
Behavioral models based around economical rationality tend to assume a high degree of self-interest on the part of the consumer.
Three important sets of attitudes that influence consumers willingness to engage with sustainability issues are perceived personal relevance, social responsibility, and trust.
[citation needed] Consumer behavior is also explained by how we think our consumption activities will be perceived by others, and how that might be reflect and influence our place in society.
People can change their behavior through marketing campaigns to encourage recycling and reducing CO2 emissions and the adoption of conservation of resources and reduction of waste in order to protect the environment.
Ideally, all aspects of our consumption behaviors and production systems will become oriented toward sustainability, but initially significant progress would be achieved through the following: Individuals may experience motivational imbalance in which they believe a particular choice has positive personal outcomes but is subject to disapproval by important social referents[clarification needed] or that the choice does not comply with their moral standards.
Habits can be thought of as procedural strategies to reduce the cognitive effort associated with making choices, particularly in situations that are relatively stable.
[22] Consumption is a holistic process, part of a broader consumer lifestyle, that is strongly influenced by the social context in which it takes place.
[24] Experts can play a crucial role in shaping sustainable consumer choices by providing credible information, guidance, and raising awareness about the environmental and ethical implications of various products and practices.
Experts contribute to the discourse on sustainability by conducting research, evaluating things such as the life cycle of products, carbon footprints and climate change projections, and then disseminating their findings to the public.
With over half of the world's population living in urban areas,[26] this approach has the potential to create large-scale movements of sustainable consumerism.