Our consumer choices are based on our identity or our perception of identity.  What do your clothes say about you?

To what extent do the products we consume define who we are?  

Select 3 of the examples below and explain 

• how these reasons why we buy certain items can possibly define who we are.

• How do they explain what's important to our quality of life?

Complete the information on the chart provided in your notes.

There are warnings on many products in Canada.  This is required by law.

What are some examples of products that we buy have warnings?

Why does the government regulate such packaging?

Record the answers to the following questions

How does legislation about consumer health and safety affect consumer behaviour?

How does this legislation connect to values and economic systems in Canada and the US?

Product purchasing creates jobs!  Without these jobs, we would not be able to support our economy.

What is the impact does having fewer jobs available to our country? 

For the example given in “Who makes your pen?”, how many jobs were involved in the production of the pen? How might the invention and use of computers have an impact on how many pens are purchased a year?  How might this impact our economy?

Remember....economic growth is the degree to which a country 's wealth increases over a period of time.  When measuring economic growth, it takes into account:

• how much profit a country's economy makes from the goods and services it produces

• how many people are working and making money

Every choice we make as consumers has an impact on our environment.  

How has the pen we purchased in the example above had an effect on our environment?

Legislation about Consumerism and the Environment

Both Canada and the US have consumer behaviour and environment, laws and programs

Why might choosing to buy environmentally friendly products affect the quality of life for you and other people?

What are some choices you can make as a consumer that protects the environment?  Why might this be important?

We have looked a bit at marketing and the impact it has on consumer decisions.  

To what extent do consumers choose the products they buy?

To what extent does marketing determine what they buy?

Lets compare

How might the principles you find in these ads 

apply to adverising and marketing 

for these products?

Canada created the Competition Act  to prevent companies from making false or misleading claims.  The government wants to make sure that producers are held accountable to fair business practices.

Analyzing Advertising

We are bombarded with advertising.  There are special programs in universities that teach how to be an effective marketer, courses available that teach you how to market through social media, plus many other opportunities to learn this "science".  According to Towers of Zeyron the industry is worth 1.7 trillion dollars.  We have looked at a few commercials.  Which of the techniques below have been used.

• Bandwagon Effect

• Emotional Appeal

• Glittering Generalities

• Plain Folk Appeal

• Testimonials

• Scientific Appeal

Name some more commercials that might use any of the above techniques.

There are many answers to this question, when you consider what each person may value as part of their quality of life.  Using the list of indicators below, select 3 indicators and create a list of consumer behaviours that have an impact on each indicator.

Examples of the most common indicators of quality of life are:

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - how much wealth a country's economy generates

• GDP per capita - average per person

• Infant mortality rate

• Life expectancy

• Unemployment rate

• Opportunitites for education

• Access to health care

• Political, economic and religious freedoms

• Quality of the environment

Example:  

Purchasing new carpet for the basement has two implications:

• what is the product you are purchasing going to be made from?  There are many flooring products that are made of recycled material or are environmentally friendly (low in volatile organic compounds - VOC's)

• What will happen with the carpet you are removing?  Will it be reused?  Can it be recycled where you live?  Will it end up in the landfill?

The answers to theses questions can impact YOUR quality of life, as well as OTHERS.

Respond to the questions in your notes by summarizing the information below. 

• Advertising can provide more information to the consumer, helping them make a more educated decision.

• When a consumer views an advertisement or commercial, they may choose to purchase the item, even if they would not normally do it - pressure to buy

Not everyone has accesses to the products and services available.  Some factors that may impact these are:

• socioeconomic factors -  Those with less income may not be able to purchase items that are needed to support quality of life

• demographics - Provost does not have the same resources available as people do in Edmonton

• seasons/weather - certain foods are only available during certain seasons and this can be dependent on the quality of the crop

7.2 How consumerism influences decision making