The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Consumption and Consumer Studies

Introduction

The academic interest in consumption and consumer studies has its primary origins in the interwar period in Europe. The social importance of consumption to everyday life and politics, however, dates back to the beginnings of permanent settlements among humans. From the early days of bartering, to the Greek agoras, to the Roman Forums, to McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and the internet, the exchange of goods and services and their relevance as markers of individual social identity and engines of large-scale social change has, in many ways, been at the heart of human sociality.

Although consumption was once arguably more of a necessary practice to obtain needed goods and services (something it still is today), it has now also become a form of social diversion, entertainment, and lifestyle among those of us who are privileged enough to be able to take part in what some might see as its excesses. The appearance of shopping malls, the spread of local and international franchises, the appearance of the credit card, and, more recently, the internet have all pushed consumption from the margins to the center in the everyday lives of many. This push to the center has also occurred within the academy, where a growing number of institutions now offer courses, majors, and even departments devoted to the study of consumer culture.

The social-cultural study of consumers and consumption stands today as a robust area of scholarly inquiry, growing largely since the end of the last century and ...