Consumer rights awareness and attitude towards consumerism

Abstract

The multi-issues of consumerism and consumer rights awareness has been examined at the macro level and the micro level in the last two and a half decades mainly in the context of developed countries, Except for some isolated studies, not much attention has been given to developing nations like India where consumerism is still in its infancy stage. However in the recent past it has gained significance in the developing nations as well. The liberalization of the Indian economy associated with the overflow of products of intricate technology in the market on the one hand and the rise in the income of the people on the other, has surfaced many issues of consumerism and consumer rights protection. Against this backdrop, the study focuses on gauging the awareness level of consumers about consumer rights and their attitudes towards marketing practices, government regulations, and other related issues of consumerism in the city of Ahmedabad, The redressal behavior for resolving the product related problems has also been examined in the study. The study indicates high level consumer skepticism with the prevailing practices and a strong support for effective government intervention. Despite a low status of consumerism the future of the movement appears to be encouraging. A low level of consumer rights has indicated that the consumers suffer in silence rather than to voice their complaints.