con ‧ sum ‧ er S3 W2 AC /kənˈsjuːmə $ -ˈsuːmər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ consumption , ↑ consumer ; verb : ↑ consume ]
someone who buys and uses products and services ⇨ consumption , producer :
Consumers will soon be paying higher airfares.
It will offer a wider choice of goods for the consumer (=consumers in general) .
Consumer demand led to higher imports of manufactured goods.
Consumer spending was down by 0.1% last month.
sources of consumer advice
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ consumer + NOUN
▪ consumer goods/products (=things that people buy for their own use)
Our demand for consumer goods increases all the time.
▪ consumer demand (=the demand for things to buy)
Consumer demand decreased as a result of the recession.
▪ consumer spending ( also consumer expenditure formal )
Higher taxes will reduce consumer spending.
▪ a consumer group (=an organization that protects consumers’ rights)
There have been complaints from consumer groups about the high prices charged by some companies.
▪ consumer prices
Consumer prices rose 3.26% in December.
▪ consumer choice
Competition between businesses leads to more consumer choice.
▪ the consumer market (=the people who buy consumer goods)
Our advertising is aimed at teenagers because they are our main consumer market.
▪ a consumer society (=a society of people who want to buy a lot of things)
In the west, we live in a consumer society.
▪ consumer durables British English (=things you buy that are expected to last, such as cars, televisions, or furniture)
Ownership of consumber durables is a reflection of standards of living.
▪ consumer debt (=money people owe because they buy too much)
the growth in consumer debt
▪ a consumer boom (=a time when people spend a lot more money on buying things than usual)
the consumer boom of the 1980s in Britain
■ adjectives
▪ the biggest/largest consumer of something
The US is the world’s biggest oil consumer.
▪ the average consumer
The average consumer has become more price conscious.
▪ a domestic consumer (=one that buys in the country where something is produced)
Demand from domestic consumers is increasing.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ customer someone who buys goods or services from a shop or company:
Customers were waiting for the shop to open.
|
The bank is one of our biggest customers.
▪ client someone who pays for a service from a professional person or company:
He has a meeting with one of his clients.
|
The company buys and sells shares on behalf of their clients
▪ shopper someone who goes to the shops looking for things to buy:
The streets were full of Christmas shoppers.
▪ guest someone who pays to stay in a hotel:
Guests must leave their rooms by 10 am.
▪ patron /ˈpeɪtrən/ formal a customer of a particular shop, restaurant or hotel – usually written on signs:
The notice said ‘Parking for Patrons Only’.
▪ patient someone who is getting medical treatment from a doctor, or in a hospital:
He is a patient of Dr Williams.
▪ consumer anyone who buys goods or uses services – used when considering these people as a group who have particular rights, needs, or behaviour:
Consumers are demanding more environmentally-friendly products.
|
the rights of the consumer
|
The law is designed to protect consumers who buy goods on the Internet.
▪ market the number of people who want to buy a product, or the type of people who want to buy it:
The market for organic food is growing all the time.
|
a magazine aimed at the youth market
▪ clientele /ˌkliːənˈtel $ ˌklaɪənˈtel, ˌkliː-/ formal the type of customers that a particular shop, restaurant etc gets:
The hotel has a very upmarket clientele.
|
They have a wealthy international clientele.