How much dead, obsolete, or simply unwanted electronic discards are lurking in basements, garages, and on shelves? In the Unites States alone, the Environmental Protection Agency reports, consumers in 2010 owned 2.4 million tons of electronic stuff they no longer wanted.
Find out where more of the detritus of the Digital Age is landing these days, in Adweek.
Image credit: Creative Commons/ÇP@flickr.com (Curtis Palmer)
This fun animation provides a vision of what a post-hyperconsumption society could look like, with people working fewer hours and pursuing new skills, homesteading, and small-scale enterprises that can help reduce the overall size and impact of the consumer economy. Narrated by economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor (julietschor.org).
Click to read more…
An interesting post by Gregory Karp in the Chicago Tribune. He looks at a number of recent studies that uncover some interesting truths about consumer behavior, including why we don’t like buying decisions that are too easy, how dieters are particularly susceptible to being tricked by food names, and why debt boosts self-esteem in young adults. Read the article here.
Image credit: Creative Commons/Will Lion@flickr.com
In April, we posted about the trend of “extreme couponing.” Today, Advertising Age looks at the issue and shares research findings showing that coupon use has actually fallen over the past decade. What’s on the rise is the extreme variety–a phenomenon that runs counter to the notion of coupons as loyalty builders.
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| Tags: coupons, extreme couponin, thrift 
Post a Comment | 3 Comments | in Consumerism, Marketing, New Consumer, Prosumers, Shopping, Uncategorized, Value
Received this via email today. The author is unclear, though some sites attribute it to Tom Dooley. In any case, it makes some excellent points:
In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained,
“We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
Click to read more…
It’s no secret (do secrets still exist?) that 2011 has been all about location, location, location in social media. Companies like Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places, Google Latitude, Loopt, Yelp, and others are racing to leverage the geo-location capabilities of our mobile phones and bring relevant information—and advertising—about the places and people around us.
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A majority of global respondents to Euro RSCG’s New Consumer survey (57 percent)–and just over two-thirds of leading-edge Prosumers–say they trust customer reviews more than “expert” reviews. As the proliferation of social media leads even more people to look to online peer reviews for help in making purchasing decisions, some brands are squandering their chance to build trust.
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| Tags: customer reviews, social media, trust Post a Comment | in Community, Consumerism, Marketing, New Consumer, Prosumers, Uncategorized
All indicators point to yes!
Wedding ring made with repurposed Welsh gold? Check.
A call for charitable contributions rather than gifts? Check.
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| Tags: conscious consumption, green, Kate Middleton, mindful consumption, New Consumer, Prince William, provenance, recycling, royal wedding, sourcing, Sustainability Post a Comment | in Consumerism, Eco-Consciousness, New Consumer, Purposeful Pleasure, Responsibility, Rightsizing, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Values, Youth
Euro RSCG’s New Consumer study found signs of a populace grown weary of throwaway culture and the constant quest for more. Looking at the U.S. stats:
| Tags: Ali Dibadj, conscious consumption, consumer spending, Euro RSCG, financial crisis, frugality, mindful consumption, New Consumer, Recession, Sanford C. Bernstein, The Citizen, thrift, values, waste Post a Comment | in Consumerism, New Consumer, Recession, Rightsizing, Shopping, Uncategorized, Values
Have you seen “Extreme Couponing”? OK, we haven’t either. 
It’s a new show on TLC (U.S.) that showcases those obsessive penny-pinchers who make creative use of coupons and promotions to reduce their grocery bills by as much as 90 percent. The show has elicited some strong reactions–pro and con. We thought we’d share with you one comment from a visitor to the Entertainment Weekly website. The response perfectly encapsulates the mindset of the New Consumer and how passionately some are fighting back against our culture of hyperconsumption.
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