Academic literature on the topic 'Consumer goods sector'

In India, Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector is the fourth largest sector and is driving everyone’s life every day.From the past twenty years, FMCG sector has seen a drastic change specifically in terms of increasing online sales across various categories. E-commerce is growing tremendously giving ample opportunities to both big and small businesses in the FMCG industry. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are goods which have very high demand and very low shelf life because they are perishable in nature. These products are non-durable products that are purchased frequently and are consumed very rapidly, they have very less profit-margin and high-volume sales. FMCG includes processed foods, beverages, baked goods, Fresh foods, cosmetics, and toiletries, office supplies, etc. This study is carried out to analyze about the impact of E-Commerce on FMCG sector and consumer buying behavior on different E-Commerce platforms. Study will also focus on most demanded FMCG products, different ECommerce stores available to consumers of Bhopal and to evaluate the impact E-Commerce is creating to small retailers.

This study explores variations in the fundamental factors impacting stock returns by focusing on two sectors: the mining sector and the consumer goods sector. The financial metrics analyzed include Price Earning Ratio (PER), Return on Assets (ROA), and Earning Per Share (EPS). The sample comprises the financial reports from 2018 to 2022 for 12 companies, evenly split between 6 mining sector companies and 6 consumer goods sector companies listed on the LQ45 of the Indonesian Stock Exchange. The findings reveal dissimilar effects of financial analysis on stock returns in the mining and consumer goods sectors. In the mining sector, the combined influence of PER, ROA, and EPS is positive but insignificant on stock returns. Conversely, in the consumer goods sector, PER exhibits a positive and significant impact, ROA shows a negative and insignificant effect, and EPS has a positive yet insignificant effect.

<em>This study assessed the relationship between liquid assets and operational performance of industrial and consumer goods sectors in Nigeria. The liquid assets variables studied comprises: Inventory (INV), Cash\Bank Balances (CBB) while the Operational Performance variable studied is Turnover (TNV). Secondary data were sourced from the annual reports of the firms under review. Five Hypotheses were estimated with the use of Random Effect Panel Multi Regression Analyses. The findings of the study show that: Inventory (INV) have positive and significant relationship on the Turnover (TNV) of the industrial goods sectors in Nigeria and have a moderate and very weak positive on consumer goods sector similarly, Cash\Bank Balances (CBB) has a weak positive relationship on turnover of the consumer goods sector. This implies that organization without adequate liquid asset is bound to suffer set back (difficult to meet short term obligation). Based on the findings of the study, the researcher conclude that a well-managed inventory will lead to improvement of operational performance in Industrial goods sectors, while in the consumer goods sector, only inventory among the explanatory variables can predict operational performance effectively. The researcher recommend that management should put more attention on their liquid assets in order to maintain an adequate performance in the sectors because the result of the study has empirically proved that the higher the liquid asset the more the turnover of industrial and consumer goods sector in Nigeria will increase.</em>

A customer is a person who pays a little bit for the goods needed to be consumed in the form of goods and services. Similarly, consumers play an important role in the economy of the nation. Without consumer demand, producers will not have one of the main motivations to produce. &nbsp;Consumer behavior is the study of how individual consumers, groups or organizations select, purchase, use and dispose of ideas, goods and services to meet their needs and wants. It refers to the actions of consumers in the market and the underlying motives of those actions. &nbsp;The business sector and the revolutionary changes in the information technology sector, coupled with the choice of consumers, with the shopping situation and payment. The mechanisms are also broadened. Buyers now have the alternative option. Shop online for a product or availing of a product as well as of ine. With the increasing penetration of the internet, these methods of buying have become increasingly popular today. People have so many choices to make with reference venues, but the most recent one is buying through internet online shoppingmode.

The background of this research is because the development of the consumer goods industry sector is one of the pretty interesting industries and consumer goods products are always needed in daily life. The consumer goods industry is one of the most needed industrial sectors, because all consumer goods industrial products are always in demand by the public, especially now that Indonesia is a very large country with a large population. The consumer goods industry sector is one of the business sectors that will continue to experience growth. Along with the increasing population growth and current economic conditions in Indonesia, the demand for this consumer goods industrial sector will continue to increase. This study aimed to analyze and examine the effect of leverage on tax avoidance in consumer goods industrial sector companies through profitability. The sampling technique was carried out by purposive sampling by determining certain criteria. Data analysis and hypothesis testing in this study used the Structural Equation Model - Partial Least Square (PLS - SEM).&#x0D; The results of the direct influence hypothesis test using the Smart PLS 3.0 application, show that Leverage (DAR) has a significant positive effect on Profitability (ROA), Leverage (DAR) has a negative but not significant effect on Tax Avoidance (ETR), and Profitability (ROA) has a significant positive effect against tax avoidance (ETR). The results of the indirect hypothesis test show that the variable Leverage (DAR) on Tax Avoidance (ETR) through Profitability (ROA) has a significant positive effect.

Purpose: The Purpose of this study is to examine the functional relationship between goods and services tax and purchasing power of fast moving consumer goods consumers. The other purposes of the study is to examine the impact of goods and services tax on this sector and subsequent implications for industry stakeholders.&#x0D; Methodology: The data required for this study is collected through both primary and secondary sources. This research is quantitative in nature and IBM SPSS25 version software is used for data processing and analysis.&#x0D; Findings: The study identifies a significant and positive relationship between goods and services tax and purchasing power of consumers. The opposite kind of relationship exist between various performance parameters of FMCG sector.&#x0D; Implications: The results of the study clearly has created a significant impact on the purchasing power of the consumers and the study suggests marginal cost pricing for FMCG products so that the burden of indirect tax is minimized.&#x0D; Originality: This study is unique because it brings together both industry and consumer perspectives of goods and services tax and its implication for industry stakeholders.

Reverse logistics has received a lot of attention due to the negative impact it has on the environment and the growing demand for green products. This especially occurred in the fast-moving consumer goods retail sector due to recalls and waste management. This sector significantly contributes to the gross domestic product growth of all countries. This has therefore led to the growing significance of reverse logistics since the fast-moving consumer goods retail sector cannot avoid reverse logistics. The primary objective of this study was for fast-moving consumer goods retailers to prioritize critical success factors for reverse logistics as a source of competitive advantage in the fast-moving consumer goods retailers’ sector. This is because it is essential for the fast-moving consumer goods retail sector to implement critical success factors in reverse logistics that can lead to firm competitiveness. The study employed a positivist research philosophy, where data were collected from 418 fast-moving consumer goods retailers and consumers via SurveyMonkey using two close-ended questionnaires. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and the Analysis of Moment Structures software version 27 were employed to analyze the data. The results offer insight into the critical success factors in reverse logistics that should be carried out to achieve firm competitiveness. Through the implementation of critical success factors, this sector will achieve several goals, such as meeting environmental protocols, decreasing operational costs, cultivating the cumulative value of the brand, and improving customer satisfaction. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-02-018 Full Text: PDF

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;This study examines the impact of Covid-19 on the firm value in the consumer goods industry sector. This study aims to determine whether there is a significant difference in the firm value of the consumer goods sector between before the Covid-19 pandemic and afterwards. The study used the average firm value in the consumer goods industry four months before the pandemic and four months after the discovery of the Covid-19 case in Indonesia. Sampling using purposive sampling with a sample size of 31 companies which are grouped into four sub-sectors. The study will examine the impact of Covid-19 on the consumer goods industry sector as a whole, as well as partially on each subsector. The data were tested by using the paired sample t-test method. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the company value of the consumer goods industry before and after the Covid-19 case. The results of the partial analysis of each subsector show that the cosmetic and house hold sub- sector and the food and beverage sub-sector have significant differences between before and after the pandemic, while the tobacco manufacturer and pharmaceutical sub-sectors have no significant differences in company value between before and after the pandemic.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Key words: I&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;mpact of Covid-19, Firm Value, Consumer Goods&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<em>The study examined the Effect of Current Asset Management on the Financial Performance of Manufacturing Firm Southeast Nigeria</em>.<em> The liquid assets variables studied comprises Account Receivables (AR), and Short-Term Investment (STI) while the Operational Performance variable studied is Turnover (TNV). Secondary data were sourced from the annual reports of the firms under review. Two Hypotheses were estimated with the use of Random Effect Panel Multi Regression Analyses. The findings of the study show that: Short Term Investment (STI) have positive and significant relationship on the Turnover (TNV) of the industrial goods sectors in Nigeria and have a moderate and very weak positive on consumer goods sector while Account Receivables (AR) has a weak positive relationship on turnover of the consumer goods sector has a moderate positive relationship on the performance of industrial and consumer goods sector in Nigeria. This implies that organization without adequate liquid asset is bound to suffer set back (difficult to meet short term obligation). Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concludes that a well-managed, account receivables will lead to improvement of operational performance in Industrial goods sectors, while in the consumer goods sector among the explanatory variables can predict operational performance effectively. The researcher recommend that management should put more attention on their current assets management in order to maintain an adequate performance in the sectors.</em>

The Purchase Behaviour has many approaches to economic phychological,and social cultural. A consumer is subjected to many influences before the actual purchase. Aroused needs are forces which activate goal- oriented behaviour to bring want &ndash;satisfaction. Fast moving consumer goods are large household goods. The fast moving consumer goods which are packaged is stuffs. Other then grocery sold in super market and retail shop. The fast moving consumer goods sector is on fourth largest in the economical large market value for Rs.60,000 crore. This industries for earn profit and quick turnover.&nbsp; The fast moving consumer goods product is frequently purchase and the consumer to take all goods and services. The fast moving consumer goods are two types of market for rural and urban market.&nbsp; They are purchase behaviour of rural and urban consumer&rsquo;s selected fast moving consumer goods. This study focused about purchase behaviour of rural and urban consumers. The conclusion will be given.

Supply chain practitioners in developing economies, like Nigeria, experience challenges in implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Poor sustainability implementation engenders the negative effects of supply chain operations on people, the environment, and business continuity. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore and describe the experiences of supply chain practitioners in the consumer goods manufacturing industry in Nigeria about sustainable supply chain management based on the theoretical foundations of stakeholder and general systems theories. The focus of the research question was to examine the experiences of supply chain practitioners to understand the challenges in implementing sustainable supply chain management practices. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interview of 21 practitioners with a minimum 3 years of professional experience using the purposive sampling strategies of key knowledgeables and snowball to achieve saturation. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed guided by the Husserlian transcendental phenomenological approach for essences. The major finding was that the cost of implementing sustainability initiatives and poor government policies and regulations were the most significant barriers. Sustainability in the supply chain is still at its infancy in Nigeria, with room for improvement. The findings could contribute to positive social change as supply chain practitioners may better engage stakeholders and implement sustainability practices that minimize the negative effects of their supply chain operations on society and the environment.

Thesis advisor: Julie H. Mortimer<br>This dissertation consists of two independent chapters on pricing and consumer demand in the retail sector. In chapter 1 develop an empirical model of Consumer Supermarket Choice that enables identification of heterogeneous consumer travel costs and is suitable for a wide range of policy experiments and the study of local competition. Chapter 2 is a theoretical investigation on pricing patterns in multi-product retail markets, when boundedly rational consumers' choice of a store is based on the price and valuation of a subset of goods. Estimation of demand systems in spatially differentiated retail markets is fundamental for understanding local competition and the impact of policy changes. It is also challenging, because shopping decisions consist of multiple dimensions: when to shop, where to shop and what to buy. In chapter 1 I develop an empirically tractable model of store choice in the supermarket industry and provide a way to identify consumers' heterogeneous travel costs without imposing restrictions on bundle choice. Using micro level data on a small market in New England, I estimate demand for stores using both a moment inequality approach and standard discrete choice techniques. I specify utility as a function of both store and bundle characteristics, and control for the endogeneity of expenditure on the bundle. I use the estimates of the discrete choice model to evaluate the welfare impact of 1) the closing of each individual store in the market and 2) the relocation of one of the stores. I find that travel costs are heterogeneous and marginally decreasing; that people like to shop at stores that are close, but also like to shop at multiple stores. Furthermore, people value stores differently (across consumers and shopping occasion) and trade off additional travel time for better store characteristics; utility differentials in preference for stores correspond to a distance ranging between zero and up to 3.3 miles. Variation in demand and substitution patterns across stores are explained by differences in store characteristics and by the shopping habits and geographic distribution of heterogenous consumers. Changes in market structure, like store entry and exit can have significant impact on consumer welfare. For example, removal on one of the stores results in a loss in CS that ranges between 8% and 44%. The assumption of rationality in retail shopping decisions appears very problematic when stores sell thousands of products and frequently vary their assortments and prices. Consumers are typically uncertain about prices at different stores and for a consumer to consider the entire distribution of bundles and prices might be a far too complex decision process. Furthermore, models with rational consumers are incapable of fully explaining important features of retail markets such as price dispersion, advertising and leader pric- ing. In chapter 2 I attempt to characterize optimal pricing by multi-product retailers when imperfectly informed consumers buy more than one product. The distinctive feature of the model is that there are two relevant moments to all purchase decisions. First, the choice of a store to visit, and second, the choice of the items to purchase. While consumers might rationally choose a store to best meet their specific needs and desires, the choice of the items to purchase is made only once in a store. Whether guided by impulse, contingent and unforeseen needs or in-store learning about a product, consumers often end up buying additional products which can generate higher profits for the stores. To examine the implications on retail pricing of this kind of behavior, I depart from a standard rational setup and introduce the concept of attractor goods. Using an an approach similar to that found in Osborne and Rubinstein (1998) and Spiegler (2006) I consider boundedly rational con- sumers whose choice between stores is based solely and entirely on the price and valuation of a subset of goods, the attractors. I show that retailer's pricing decisions have to take into account not only the direct effect of prices on a product's demand but also the effect on the demand for the other products sold in the store. The optimal pricing schedule will be a decreasing function of the goods' attractiveness, and pricing below marginal cost might be optimal for some goods. The model provides a rationale for the strategy of loss leader pricing and offers an intuitive explanation to countercyclical markups<br>Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013<br>Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences<br>Discipline: Economics

The European Union made the choice to promote and make mandatory the use of International Accounting Standards (IAS/IFRS) in order to have standardized accounting principles. In particular, revenue has always been an important figure in the income statements not just for its monetary meaning but also for its importance in the decision – making process of the investors. For that matters one of the last big changes made by the IAS/IFRS boards is the accounting standards concerning revenue with the introduction of “IFRS 15: Revenue from contract with customers”. The first chapter of the thesis is focused on the principle of the previous international accounting standard: IAS 18 – Revenue and IAS 11 – Construction Contracts, the revenue recognition under US GAAP and finally the weakness of the latter which could identify the main reason for the new standard. The second chapter is about the new standard: its scope, the changes that have been made, the five-step model, its importance and literature on the adoption and implementation. In the third chapter there is the literature review on the practices of earnings management. In the following chapter there is the empirical analysis of the thesis which concerns the earnings management topic. The objective of the work is to check whether the predictions made by the big four regarding the impact of IFRS 15 on the earning management in the industries of Building and Construction and Energy are correct and therefore have a positive outcome on quality of accounting information.

The research study is on the green marketing but specifically on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intention of eco-friendly products. It has been the global concern for the purpose of the preservation of the polluting and degradation of environment. Many studies have been done on the green marketing exploring the importance of the topic and relationship to the attitude and purchasing behavior of the consumers of eco-friendly products. Through the vital information provided by the expertise, competent and experience researchers, companies have understood the importance of green marketing in order to produce eco-friendly products and these provided much rich information for the literature studies of the thesisThe objective of this research was looked into and explored the influencing of the four traditional marketing-mix elements, satisfaction and word of mouth (WOM) on attitude and purchasing intentions of consumers on eco-friendly products specifically fasting moving consumer goods (FMCG) or non-durable ones. The purpose of the study was to obtain information from consumers’ point of view. Furthermore, one perspective of the study was to look into the comparison of the Swedish and the Non-Swedish their attitudes towards eco-friendly products. A questionnaire provided to obtain the views of the Swedish and others nationalities, how they are influenced by the marketing-mix elements (4P), satisfaction and WOM concerning green attitudes and purchase intention of eco-friendly products. A quantitative approach was adopted for the study by using a questionnaire, one paper version and another online version the total sample was composed of 174 respondents, 81 were collected through internet by using Google.doc surveys and Facebook and 93 by using standard paper questionnaire form. Furthermore, convenient sample was used to collect data so the chosen boundary was Umeå University and its residents.Our findings indicated that consumers who already bought eco-friendly products and those who are satisfied by these previous purchases were willing to repeat purchases. Indeed satisfaction goes with purchase intention. Furthermore the importance of WOM and Advertising about green products the fact that consumers believe in green claim explain the variance of the purchase intention. Positive attitudes concerning willingness to pay an extra price for green products are also correlated with purchase intention. However we discovered also that positive attitudes towards green products do not always lead to action i.e. purchase of these products. Our findings demonstrated that there were differences in attitudes and purchase intention toward green products between mainly the women and men and between the Swedish and the Non-Swedish.

Environmental protection has gained a lot of attention in recent years. People, governments and NGOs understand that our economic growth needs to be sustainable and respect the ecosystem. Everyone has a role to play in the planet conservation, from consumers to industries. This paper investigates on a linguistic level how the fast-moving consumer goods companies such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever communicate about their sustainability profile, as well as the differences and similarities in their communications. Lastly, I analysed the companies’ sustainability goals and how they relate to those established by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). My methodology was a Faircloughian textual analysis of each company’s official web pages with a focus on their sustainability section. The results show that each company addresses their impact on the environment on different sustainability goals. To resolve the environmental challenges, both companies count on innovative technologies to improve their products so they become eco-friendly. This study’s implication is the importance of words choices in the companies’ sustainability discourse, in order to convey clearly what measures are applied to diminish their environmental footprint.

This thesis aims to explore the experiences of those individuals involved in the phenomenon of cross-sector collaborations within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) global food sector. The research is situated within a landscape of diminished availability of funding for Non-profit organizations (NPOs) in which new ways of achieving sustained funding are being sought. Coupled with the emergence of increased Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity from Commercial Entities (CEs), in part driven by societal pressure for companies to ‘do more' and the resultant motivation for CEs to deliver effective CSR programmes, cross-sector collaboration appears to offer a methodology through which both sides can achieve their respective aims. The research gap identified focuses on the lack of understanding of the micro-processes, or attributes of the relationship, at the micro-level of partnership interaction. The sample group was accessed from individuals with extensive experience of NPO-CE collaborations within the area of FMCG global food production. This access allowed the experiences of some of these individuals to be gathered and explored within this study. Data collection techniques took the form of semi-structured interviews with twelve senior executives. An interpretivist approach was employed using a phenomenological research design to elicit an understanding of the experiences of the respondents' involvement with NPO-CE collaborations. The intention was to afford the respondents the opportunity to recount their own experiences in their own terms and with their own emphasis on what was important to them within the broad structure provided by the three core categories drawn from the literature: value creation, partnership processes and relationship dynamics. A thematic data analysis was conducted using the framework developed from the initial literature review and subsequent agenda developed. The findings of the study have numerous implications for both academics and practitioners. Firstly, the study contributes to knowledge through the increased understanding of the nature of NPO-CE collaboration at the micro-process level from the perspective of the individual and provides insight into the nature of such relationships. It suggests a number of attributes that are viewed as significant by those involved in NPO-CE relationships at the individual level, including the confirmation of the importance of trust, effective leadership and formal and informal control measures. Secondly, numerous implications emerge for the practicing manager from the study, including perspectives on the demands, risks and rewards at both the individual and organizational level for managers engaged in cross-sector collaborations. Ultimately the study suggests that the traditional linear temporal framework for cross-sector collaboration development should be viewed as more cyclical in nature, and that the concomitant organizational demands of such an approach should be reflected in the decision-making processes ahead of any potential NPO-CE collaboration. The essence of this revised framework is presented in the form of a conceptual model The exploratory nature of the study has facilitated the identification of areas where future research is required, including: the challenges associated with implementing strategic agility within NPO-CE collaborations; exploring mechanisms for building and maintaining trust within a sustained collaboration; and the potential to develop the conceptual model into a decision-making framework for managers of future NPO-CE collaborations.

Mestrado Bolonha em Ciências Empresariais<br>No âmbito deste projeto de dissertação, pretende-se analisar os processos de venda e digitalização no setor Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Assim sendo, o objetivo passa por compreender a abordagem relacional da venda no contexto dos produtores de FMCGs e os seus clientes do retalho, descrever e analisar o processo de venda neste setor, bem como compreender de que forma a digitalização afeta estes processos de venda na empresa Nestlé. São abordados três grandes temas: a Ótica Relacional da Venda, os Processos de Venda e a Digitalização. Adotou-se uma pesquisa descritiva, através de uma abordagem qualitativa e de uma estratégia de investigação baseada num estudo de caso. Desse modo, foi efetuada uma entrevista semiestruturada online com a atual responsável de Sales Support da Nestlé que se encontra a trabalhar na empresa há 33 anos, tendo passado por diversas áreas de gestão. Conclui- se, no final deste estudo, que a empresa adota uma abordagem de venda relacional e de colaboração e cooperação comercial com todos os seus clientes de modo a que ambas as partes lucrem com a parceria. O processo de venda da Nestlé cumpre com as “sete etapas de venda” definidas por Moncrief & Marshall (2005), desde a prospeção ao follow-up dos clientes e relativamente à Nestlé, concluiu-se que a crescente utilização das tecnologias presentes no mercado, permitiram um acesso privilegiado à informação ajudando no processo de relação comercial com os seus clientes. No futuro, a organização pretende continuar a apostar na constante inovação das suas plataformas digitais de modo a que os seus processos se tornem mais rápidos e liberte tempo aos seus trabalhadores de forma a pensarem mais na sua estratégia e terem o tempo devido para a análise dos dados, contudo, nunca descurando o relacionamento interpessoal nos seus negócios.<br>The aim of this thesis is to analyze the selling and digitalization processes in the Fast- Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector. Therefore, the objective is to understand the relational approach to selling in the context of FMCG producers and their retail customers, to describe and analyze the selling process in this sector, and to understand how digitalization affects these selling processes in the Nestlé company. Three major themes are addressed: the Relational View of Selling, Selling Processes and Digitalization. A descriptive research was adopted, through a qualitative approach and a research strategy based on a case study. Thus, an online semi-structured interview was carried out with the current head of Sales Support at Nestlé, who has been working at the company for 33 years, having passed through several management areas. The conclusion of this study is that the company adopts an approach of relational selling and commercial collaboration and cooperation with all its customers so that both parties profit with the partnership. Nestlé's sales process complies with the "seven stages of selling" defined by Moncrief & Marshall (2005), from prospection to customer follow-up, and for Nestlé we concluded that the increasing use of technology in the market has allowed for privileged access to information, helping in the process of commercial relations with their customers. In the future, the organization intends to continue to invest in constant innovation of its digital platforms so that its processes become faster and free up time for its employees to think more about their strategy and have the proper time for data analysis, however, never neglecting the interpersonal relationship in their business.<br>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The textbook details the classification of homogeneous groups of non-food products, their commodity characteristics, properties and assortment indicators. The issues of the state&#x0D; of the market of groups of goods, conditions and terms of storage of goods are considered. The labeling and packaging of goods are described. Examples of recognizing goods by assortment, identifying the need for goods,&#x0D; calculating commodity losses and turnover, as well as the profitability of a trading enterprise are given.&#x0D; The textbook is written in accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of secondary vocational education in the specialty "Commodity science and quality examination of consumer goods" (section "Commodity characteristics of homogeneous groups of non-food products").&#x0D; Designed for college and technical school students studying under the MDK.01.01 program "Fundamentals of product assortment management", it will also be useful for sales workers.

This chapter first discusses the distinctive features of the British inter-war consumer durables revolution, analysing the production, consumption, and marketing characteristics of the sectors reviewed in the previous chapters and the ways these interacted to enable some durables (furniture, modern suburban housing, and radio) to diffuse relatively rapidly, compared to others, such as white goods, cars, and telephones. The chapter then examine the success of the different supply-side strategies in boosting diffusion rates. This is followed by a brief review of the impacts of the inter-war consumer durables revolution on both the industries concerned and on households—with a particular focus on the working and lower-middle classes. Finally, the chapter takes the story forward to the early post-1945 decades, to explain why Britain was transformed from Europe’s leading producer of consumer durables in 1939 to a country whose durable goods industries were in crisis and decline by the 1970s.

The next decade will be decisive in the fight against climate change. It will be impossible to hold the planet to a 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise without controlling methane and carbon dioxide emissions from the oil and gas sector. Contrary to popular belief, the world will not run out of these resources anytime soon. Instead, oil and gas are becoming more climate-intensive to supply using technologies like fracking oil and liquefying gas—even as these abundant resources continue to be used to fuel cars, heat homes, and produce consumer goods like shampoo, pajamas, and paint. Policymakers, financial investors, environmental advocates, and citizens need to understand what oils and fossil fuels are doing to our climate to inform decision-making. In No Standard Oil, Deborah Gordon shows that no two oils or gases are environmentally alike. Each has a distinct, quantifiable climate impact. While all oils and gases pollute, some are much worse for the climate than others. In clear, accessible language, Gordon explains the results of the Oil Climate Index Plus Gas (OCI+), an innovative, open-source model that estimates global oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions. Gordon identifies the oils and gases from every region of the globe—along with the specific production, processing, and refining activities—that are the most damaging to the planet and proposes innovative solutions to reduce their climate footprints. Global climate stabilization cannot afford to wait for oil and gas to run out. No Standard Oil shows how people can take immediate, practical steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the crucial oil and gas sector while making sustainable progress in transitioning to a carbon-free energy future.

The global phenomenon of political consumerism is known through such diverse manifestations as corporate boycotts, increased preferences for organic and fair-trade products, and lifestyle choices such as veganism. It has also become an area of increasing research across a variety of disciplines. Political consumerism usesconsumer power to change institutional or market practices that are found ethically, environmentally, or politically objectionable. Through such actions, the goods offered on the consumer market are problematized and politicized. Distinctions between consumers and citizens and between the economy and politics collapse. The Oxford Handbook of Political Consumerism offers the first comprehensive theoretical and comparative overview of the ways in which the market becomes a political arena. It maps the four major forms of political consumerism: boycotting, buycotting (spending to show support), lifestyle politics, and discursive actions, such as culture jamming. Chapters by leading scholars examine political consumerism in different locations and industry sectors, and in consideration of environmental and human rights problems, political events, and the ethics of production and manufacturing practices. This volume offers a thorough exploration of the phenomenon and its myriad dilemmas, involving religion, race, nationalism, gender relations, animals, and our common future. Moreover, the Handbook takes stock of political consumerism's effectiveness in solving complex global problems and its use to both promote and impede democracy.

Abstract3D personal data is a type of data that contains useful information for product design, online sale services, medical research and patient follow-up.Currently, hospitals store and grow massive collections of 3D data that are not accessible by researchers, professionals or companies. About 2.7 petabytes a year are stored in the EU26.In parallel to the advances made in the healthcare sector, a new, low-cost 3D body-surface scanning technology has been developed for the goods consumer sector, namely, apparel, animation and art. It is estimated that currently one person is scanned every 15 min in the USA and Europe. And increasing.The 3D data of the healthcare sector can be used by designers and manufacturers of the consumer goods sector. At the same time, although 3D body-surface scanners have been developed primarily for the garment industry, 3D scanners’ low cost, non-invasive character and ease of use make them appealing for widespread clinical applications and large-scale epidemiological surveys.However, companies and professionals of the consumer goods sector cannot easily access the 3D data of the healthcare sector. And vice versa. Even exchanging information between data owners in the same sector is a big problem today. It is necessary to overcome problems related to data privacy and the processing of huge 3D datasets.To break these silos and foster the exchange of data between the two sectors, the BodyPass project has developed: (1) processes to harmonize 3D databases; (2) tools able to aggregate 3D data from different huge datasets; (3) tools for exchanging data and to assure anonymization and data protection (based on blockchain technology and distributed query engines); (4) services and visualization tools adapted to the necessities of the healthcare sector and the garment sector.These developments have been applied in practical cases by hospitals and companies of in the garment sector.

Abstract This chapter first introduces the concepts of utility, margin, and free goods. It then discusses two theories to explain consumer behaviour: (i) utility theory; and (ii) indifference theory. Both theories make the reasonable assumption that the objective the consumer has in mind is to get the greatest amount of satisfaction possible from the limited amount of purchasing power he or she possesses. The utility theory, while simple in concept, contains some difficulties which the second approach, using indifference curve analysis, overcomes. The concepts are illustrated with examples involving products such as bread, cigarettes, beer and milk.

The coronavirus pandemic has had serious economic consequences. As a result, the demand for consumer goods and services has fallen sharply, and the service sector is suffering huge losses. Accordingly, revenue also fell, while the mandatory costs remained unchanged: loan payments, rent payments, salaries, taxes and social contributions. The resulting cash gap is likely to lead to massive bankruptcies.

Abstract This chapter discusses the theories of demand and supply, including the factors affecting the demand for commodities (the price of the commodity itself, the incomes of consumers, the price of competitive (or substitute) goods, the price of complementary goods, and the tastes of consumers) as well as the factors affecting supply (the price of the good, the prices of other goods that firms could produce or do produce, the prices of factors of production, the state of technology, and the goals/objectives of firms). The significance of the price and income elasticities of demand to the agricultural sector is highlighted.

AbstractThis chapter discusses how the fundamental values of energy democracy and energy justice and the principles of good governance can play a role in developing a more consistent approach towards the regulation of the energy sector and, more in particular, in dealing with the challenges of regulating the heat transition in the Netherlands in a just way. Energy justice and energy democracy are energy specific concepts that are gaining influence when interpreting and applying the principles of good governance in the energy sector. Both concepts are based on the awareness that the energy transition is a matter for all citizens of the European Union and should not be ignored by policymakers and independent regulators. The heat transition in the Netherlands significantly impacts the position of consumers, prosumers and vulnerable customers, as an ever-larger group of consumers will be disconnected from the gas grid and will be connected to heat networks. Energy democracy and energy justice and the principles of good governance are important values that should guide policy-makers in making choices that affect consumer participation and the protection of vulnerable customers in the heat transition. It is elaborated how energy democracy and energy justice and the principles of good governance indeed can provide a useful framework within which advantages and disadvantages can be weighed of regulatory choices to be made when modernising the regulation of the heat market in a just way. In particular, there remains a lot to gain in terms of flexible regulation and supervision as well as the facilitation of consumer/prosumer participation in the Netherlands. Because it is likely that most heat consumers will remain locked in for a relatively long time in natural monopolies facilitated by older generation heat networks and the lack of alternative heating, substantive consumer-participation could yield positive results regarding community engagement in heat network management and heat supply.

Whey is a significant environmental contaminant since its waste load is estimated to be 100�175 times more than that of an equivalent volume of household wastewater. It is estimated that around half of the whey produced is used for human or animal use, and the other half is released into the environment as waste water, which adds to pollution. Thus, in accordance with the guidelines established by the EU Green Deal Program, its valorisation through the development of health-promoting products is an important step for the environment and the food sector. Numerous whey-based beverages are mentioned in the specialized literature. Wine-like beverages can be made by fermenting whey with different kinds of yeasts, producing liqueur-style drinks, a drink with an alcohol concentration of 10�14% etc. The purpose of the research was to obtain fermented drinks from deproteinized whey, endogenously impregnated with CO2. The novelty of these beverages consisted of using local ingredients to improve the nutritional value of the finished product � berry syrup. The technological process of production was similar to that for obtaining bottled sparkling wines. The finished products were analyzed from a physical-chemical and sensory point of view. The study emphasizes that a contemporary beverage should meet the four primary demands of the consumers: sensory quality, thirst-quenching properties, affordability, and a good health profile. By repurposing whey into a value-added product, this research contributes to sustainable food production practices and offers a new solution for whey waste management.

Electroactive biofilms provide environments conducive to the occurrence of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in several industrial sectors. There are many distinct MIC mechanisms associated with different microbial groups and metabolism types. Most published research studies on MIC focus on bacteria, where sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) have the largest impact on corrosion because sulfate is widely distributed in anoxic environments, such as offshore oil reservoirs. This study investigated the role of an oilfield SRB-consortium in the AISI 1020 carbon steel corrosion immersed in hypersaline seawater (10% NaCl w/m) with low dissolved oxygen (&amp;gt;2 mg/L). This steel is globally used to build oil and gas industry facilities exposed to both onshore and offshore sites due to its low cost and good corrosion resistance. Each microcosm consisted of 100 mL seawater and one suspended metallic coupon of 6 cm2 total surface area. Three identical microcosms were performed. Simultaneously, abiotic control assays without microbial consortium were also executed. The assays were analysed by weight loss method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after 10 days at 40°C. Additionally, SRB counts in the hypersaline seawater at diferent times are done. The planktonic population increased slow and its peak at 9.5× 106 MPN/mL appeared at day 10. This result suggest that the increased salt content was not an inhibiting factor since the SRB consortia grew well and remained metabolically active throughout the assay. Corrosion rates are shown in Table 1. The abiotic condition must have improved the corrosion rate because of the large amount of chloride ions (Cl−) in the hypersaline seawater (10% w/v salinity). Cl− enhances the electrical conductivity of aqueous solutions and consequently boosts the velocity of oxidation and reduction reactions of the corrosive process. Thus, it proceeds an homogeneous degradation over the entire surface area causing signifcant mass loss and well-proportioned corrosion rate. On the other hand, SRB-MIC consumes only a relatively small amount (mass) of material due to the localized corrosion (pits), corroborating the low corrosion rate. Many pits were detected in the steel surface with a maximum depth of 33 μm; it was 86% deeper than the maximum pit depth in abiotic condition.

Retail sector has always played and important role in the national economy. Any business is tendet towards satisfaction of consumer desires and needs, albeit profits. In relationships between companies and consumers both sides have their interests. For a company it, primary, is to increase the turnover and make profits, while the consumers may have several goals – to obtain the goods or services, to receive the necessary information and attitude. These consumer benefits are the basis for loyalty. Thus, the aim of the present paper is to research the loyalty formation process and its characteristics in the retail sector.

During the second half of the 1920s – the first half of the 1930s, significant changes unfolded in the trade network of Siberian cities. The state sector became dominant, the share of cooperation decreased significantly, and the private sector was eliminated. In the conditions of an all-encompassing shortage of consumer goods, there was a transition from the organization of trade on market principles to a standardized supply and distribution system. As part of this transition, the relationship between the seller and the buyer has radically changed. The card system, constant shortages and long queues turned the buyer from a welcome guest into a humiliated recipient of the prescribed portion of consumer goods. The relations that developed during this period determined the characteristic features of the Soviet trading system throughout the Soviet era.

From the beginning of the 20th century it has been observed that detailed studies have been carried on consumer protection and consumer rights by countries, civil society organizations, private sector companies and universities. A harmonious co-operation between these units is of great importance in terms of ensuring effective consumer protection. Because the informing, education and protection of the consumer is accepted as a necessity of modern society. Consumer education is seen as a prerequisite for long-term social and cultural development. Tourists can experience various problems in purchasing goods and services in the regions they travel and do not know which way to apply in such a situation. In this context, youth who are educated tourism management should be knowledgeable about consumer rights are important in terms of resolving the expectations of consumers.&#x0D; In this context, the main purpose of the research is to reveal the knowledge level and behavior of consumer rights of tourism students. The questionnaire prepared for this purpose was applied to the students of Selcuk University Tourism Faculty. As a result of the research, it was determined that the students who participated in the survey know the consumer rights law. However, it has been determined that they do not know the contents of the basic rights provided in this law and the ways of utilization at the desired level.

This case study explores the journey of Hemas, a Sri Lankan conglomerate involved in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, as it navigates through the complexities that arise due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including disruptions to the supply chain, uncertainties in the global market, and the economic crisis in Sri Lanka which led to fuel shortages, exchange crisis and power outages. This case study explores the journey of Hemas, a Sri Lankan conglomerate involved in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. While navigating through the complexities that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine, Hemas faced difficulties in obtaining raw materials, specifically sunflower oil. At present it faces the negative repercussions of the severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Hence, the case study explores Hemas' strategies in response to these challenges, including a highly adaptable approach, leveraging its reputation for better financial terms, and prioritising employee well-being.

The COVID-19 outbreak has heavily influenced the way many businesses operate across all sectors linked to both changes in the consumer behavior, social-distancing restrictions and also the availability of resources and services (inc. public services) for businesses. These restrictions have influenced also the work of enterprises in the sector of bioeconomy � producers, processors and distributors of manufactured goods like food, clothing or home goods and other bio-based sectors both in the stages of primary production and processing and distribution. This study aims to assess the digitalisation process of the enterprises in the bioeconomy sector, the enterprise`s motivation for digitalisation and the impact of COVID-19 to the digitalisation of enterprises. It analyses the results of a survey carried out in Latvia in 2 phases � in 2020 and 2021 of entrepreneurs and employees of the enterprises working in the sector of bioeconomy, which allows to identify the digitalisation tools used by these enterprises and their motivation in moving towards the digital transformation.

Specific Research Objective. Develop a theory of technology adoption to analyze the role of promotional tools such as advertising, product sampling, demonstrations, money back guarantees and warranties in inducing technological change. Use this theory to develop criteria for assessing the optimal use of marketing activities in launching new agricultural input technologies. Apply the model to analyze existing patterns of marketing budget allocation among promotional tools for various agricultural input industries in the United States and Israel. Background to the Topic. Marketing tools (money-back guarantees [MBG] demonstration, free sampling and advertising) are used extensively to induce the adoption of agricultural inputs, but there is little understanding of their impacts on the diffusion of new technologies. The agricultural economic literature on technology adoption ignores marketing efforts by the private sector, which may result in misleading extension and technology transfer policies. There is a need to integrate marketing and economic approaches in analyzing technology adoption, especially in the area of agricultural inputs. Major Conclusion. Marketing tools play an important role in reducing uncertainties about product performance. They assist potential buyers to learn both about objective features, about a product, and about product fit to the buyer's need. Tools, such as MBGs and demonstration, provide different information about product fit but also require different degrees of cost for the consumer. In some situations they can be complimentary and optimal strategy combines the use of both. In other situations there will be substitution. Sampling is used to reduce the uncertainty about non-durable goods. An optimal level of informational tools declines throughout the life of a product but stays positive at a steady state. Implications. Recognizing the heterogeneity of consumers and the sources of their uncertainty about new technologies is crucial to develop a marketing strategy that will enhance the adoption of innovation. When fit uncertainty is high, allowing an MBG option, as well as a demonstration, may be an optimal strategy to enhance adoption.

Executive Summary This report describes a series of experiments carried out by PRICE Lab, a research programme at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) jointly funded by the Central Bank of Ireland, the Commission for Energy Regulation, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Communications Regulation. The experiments were conducted with samples of Irish consumers aged 18-70 years and were designed to answer the following general research question: At what point do products become too complex for consumers to choose accurately between the good ones and the bad ones? BACKGROUND AND METHODS PRICE Lab represents a departure from traditional methods employed for economic research in Ireland. It belongs to the rapidly expanding area of ‘behavioural economics’, which is the application of psychological insights to economic analysis. In recent years, behavioural economics has developed novel methods and generated many new findings, especially in relation to the choices made by consumers. These scientific advances have implications both for economics and for policy. They suggest that consumers often do not make decisions in the way that economists have traditionally assumed. The findings show that consumers have limited capacity for attending to and processing information and that they are prone to systematic biases, all of which may lead to disadvantageous choices. In short, consumers may make costly mistakes. Research has indeed documented that in several key consumer markets, including financial services, utilities and telecommunications, many consumers struggle to choose the best products for themselves. It is often argued that these markets involve ‘complex’ products. The obvious question that arises is whether consumer policy can be used to help them to make better choices when faced with complex products. Policies are more likely to be successful where they are informed by an accurate understanding of how real consumers make decisions between products. To provide evidence for consumer policy, PRICE Lab has developed a method for measuring the accuracy with which consumers make choices, using techniques adapted from the scientific study of human perception. The method allows researchers to measure how reliably consumers can distinguish a good deal from a bad one. A good deal is defined here as one where the product is more valuable than the price paid. In other words, it offers good value for money or, in the jargon of economics, offers the consumer a ‘surplus’. Conversely, a bad deal offers poor value for money, providing no (or a negative) surplus. PRICE Lab’s main experimental method, which we call the ‘Surplus Identification’ (S-ID) task, allows researchers to measure how accurately consumers can spot a surplus and whether they are prone to systematic biases. Most importantly, the S-ID task can be used to study how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions changes as the type of product changes. For the experiments we report here, samples of consumers arrived at the ESRI one at a time and spent approximately one hour doing the S-ID task with different kinds of products, which were displayed on a computer screen. They had to learn to judge the value of one or more products against prices and were then tested for accuracy. As well as people’s intrinsic motivation to do well when their performance on a task like this is tested, we provided an incentive: one in every ten consumers who attended PRICE Lab won a prize, based on their performance. Across a series of these experiments, we were able to test how the accuracy of consumers’ decisions was affected by the number and nature of the product’s characteristics, or ‘attributes’, which they had to take into account in order to distinguish good deals from bad ones. In other words, we were able to study what exactly makes for a ‘complex’ product, in the sense that consumers find it difficult to choose good deals. FINDINGS Overall, across all ten experiments described in this report, we found that consumers’ judgements of the value of products against prices were surprisingly inaccurate. Even when the product was simple, meaning that it consisted of just one clearly perceptible attribute (e.g. the product was worth more when it was larger), consumers required a surplus of around 16-26 per cent of the total price range in order to be able to judge accurately that a deal was a good one rather than a bad one. Put another way, when most people have to map a characteristic of a product onto a range of prices, they are able to distinguish at best between five and seven levels of value (e.g. five levels might be thought of as equivalent to ‘very bad’, ‘bad’, ‘average’, ‘good’, ‘very good’). Furthermore, we found that judgements of products against prices were not only imprecise, but systematically biased. Consumers generally overestimated what products at the top end of the range were worth and underestimated what products at the bottom end of the range were worth, typically by as much as 10-15 per cent and sometimes more. We then systematically increased the complexity of the products, first by adding more attributes, so that the consumers had to take into account, two, three, then four different characteristics of the product simultaneously. One product might be good on attribute A, not so good on attribute B and available at just above the xii | PRICE Lab: An Investigation of Consumers’ Capabilities with Complex Products average price; another might be very good on A, middling on B, but relatively expensive. Each time the consumer’s task was to judge whether the deal was good or bad. We would then add complexity by introducing attribute C, then attribute D, and so on. Thus, consumers had to negotiate multiple trade-offs. Performance deteriorated quite rapidly once multiple attributes were in play. Even the best performers could not integrate all of the product information efficiently – they became substantially more likely to make mistakes. Once people had to consider four product characteristics simultaneously, all of which contributed equally to the monetary value of the product, a surplus of more than half the price range was required for them to identify a good deal reliably. This was a fundamental finding of the present experiments: once consumers had to take into account more than two or three different factors simultaneously their ability to distinguish good and bad deals became strikingly imprecise. This finding therefore offered a clear answer to our primary research question: a product might be considered ‘complex’ once consumers must take into account more than two or three factors simultaneously in order to judge whether a deal is good or bad. Most of the experiments conducted after we obtained these strong initial findings were designed to test whether consumers could improve on this level of performance, perhaps for certain types of products or with sufficient practice, or whether the performance limits uncovered were likely to apply across many different types of product. An examination of individual differences revealed that some people were significantly better than others at judging good deals from bad ones. However the differences were not large in comparison to the overall effects recorded; everyone tested struggled once there were more than two or three product attributes to contend with. People with high levels of numeracy and educational attainment performed slightly better than those without, but the improvement was small. We also found that both the high level of imprecision and systematic bias were not reduced substantially by giving people substantial practice and opportunities to learn – any improvements were slow and incremental. A series of experiments was also designed to test whether consumers’ capability was different depending on the type of product attribute. In our initial experiments the characteristics of the products were all visual (e.g., size, fineness of texture, etc.). We then performed similar experiments where the relevant product information was supplied as numbers (e.g., percentages, amounts) or in categories (e.g., Type A, Rating D, Brand X), to see whether performance might improve. This question is important, as most financial and contractual information is supplied to consumers in a numeric or categorical form. The results showed clearly that the type of product information did not matter for the level of imprecision and bias in consumers’ decisions – the results were essentially the same whether the product attributes were visual, numeric or categorical. What continued to drive performance was how many characteristics the consumer had to judge simultaneously. Thus, our findings were not the result of people failing to perceive or take in information accurately. Rather, the limiting factor in consumers’ capability was how many different factors they had to weigh against each other at the same time. In most of our experiments the characteristics of the product and its monetary value were related by a one-to-one mapping; each extra unit of an attribute added the same amount of monetary value. In other words, the relationships were all linear. Because other findings in behavioural economics suggest that consumers might struggle more with non-linear relationships, we designed experiments to test them. For example, the monetary value of a product might increase more when the amount of one attribute moves from very low to low, than when it moves from high to very high. We found that this made no difference to either the imprecision or bias in consumers’ decisions provided that the relationship was monotonic (i.e. the direction of the relationship was consistent, so that more or less of the attribute always meant more or less monetary value respectively). When the relationship involved a turning point (i.e. more of the attribute meant higher monetary value but only up to a certain point, after which more of the attribute meant less value) consumers’ judgements were more imprecise still. Finally, we tested whether familiarity with the type of product improved performance. In most of the experiments we intentionally used products that were new to the experimental participants. This was done to ensure experimental control and so that we could monitor learning. In the final experiment reported here, we used two familiar products (Dublin houses and residential broadband packages) and tested whether consumers could distinguish good deals from bad deals any better among these familiar products than they could among products that they had never seen before, but which had the same number and type of attributes and price range. We found that consumers’ performance was the same for these familiar products as for unfamiliar ones. Again, what primarily determined the amount of imprecision and bias in consumers’ judgments was the number of attributes that they had to balance against each other, regardless of whether these were familiar or novel. POLICY IMPLICATIONS There is a menu of consumer polices designed to assist consumers in negotiating complex products. A review, including international examples, is given in the main body of the report. The primary aim is often to simplify the consumer’s task. Potential policies, versions of which already exist in various forms and which cover a spectrum of interventionist strength, might include: the provision and endorsement of independent, transparent price comparison websites and other choice engines (e.g. mobile applications, decision software); the provision of high quality independent consumer advice; ‘mandated simplification’, whereby regulations stipulate that providers must present product information in a simplified and standardised format specifically determined by regulation; and more strident interventions such as devising and enforcing prescriptive rules and regulations in relation to permissible product descriptions, product features or price structures. The present findings have implications for such policies. However, while the experimental findings have implications for policy, it needs to be borne in mind that the evidence supplied here is only one factor in determining whether any given intervention in markets is likely to be beneficial. The findings imply that consumers are likely to struggle to choose well in markets with products consisting of multiple important attributes that must all be factored in when making a choice. Interventions that reduce this kind of complexity for consumers may therefore be beneficial, but nothing in the present research addresses the potential costs of such interventions, or how providers are likely to respond to them. The findings are also general in nature and are intended to give insights into consumer choices across markets. There are likely to be additional factors specific to certain markets that need to be considered in any analysis of the costs and benefits of a potential policy change. Most importantly, the policy implications discussed here are not specific to Ireland or to any particular product market. Furthermore, they should not be read as criticisms of existing regulatory regimes, which already go to some lengths in assisting consumers to deal with complex products. Ireland currently has extensive regulations designed to protect consumers, both in general and in specific markets, descriptions of which can be found in Section 9.1 of the main report. Nevertheless, the experiments described here do offer relevant guidance for future policy designs. For instance, they imply that while policies that make it easier for consumers to switch providers may be necessary to encourage active consumers, they may not be sufficient, especially in markets where products are complex. In order for consumers to benefit, policies that help them to identify better deals reliably may also be required, given the scale of inaccuracy in consumers’ decisions that we record in this report when products have multiple important attributes. Where policies are designed to assist consumer decisions, the present findings imply quite severe limits in relation to the volume of information consumers can simultaneously take into account. Good impartial Executive Summary | xv consumer advice may limit the volume of information and focus on ensuring that the most important product attributes are recognised by consumers. The findings also have implications for the role of competition. While consumers may obtain substantial potential benefits from competition, their capabilities when faced with more complex products are likely to reduce such benefits. Pressure from competition requires sufficient numbers of consumers to spot and exploit better value offerings. Given our results, providers with larger market shares may face incentives to increase the complexity of products in an effort to dampen competitive pressure and generate more market power. Where marketing or pricing practices result in prices or attributes with multiple components, our findings imply that consumer choices are likely to become less accurate. Policymakers must of course be careful in determining whether such practices amount to legitimate innovations with potential consumer benefit. Yet there is a genuine danger that spurious complexity can be generated that confuses consumers and protects market power. The results described here provide backing for the promotion and/or provision by policymakers of high-quality independent choice engines, including but not limited to price comparison sites, especially in circumstances where the number of relevant product attributes is high. A longer discussion of the potential benefits and caveats associated with such policies is contained in the main body of the report. Mandated simplification policies are gaining in popularity internationally. Examples include limiting the number of tariffs a single energy company can offer or standardising health insurance products, both of which are designed to simplify the comparisons between prices and/or product attributes. The present research has some implications for what might make a good mandate. Consumer decisions are likely to be improved where a mandate brings to the consumer’s attention the most important product attributes at the point of decision. The present results offer guidance with respect to how many key attributes consumers are able simultaneously to trade off, with implications for the design of standardised disclosures. While bearing in mind the potential for imposing costs, the results also suggest benefits to compulsory ‘meta-attributes’ (such as APRs, energy ratings, total costs, etc.), which may help consumers to integrate otherwise separate sources of information. FUTURE RESEARCH The experiments described here were designed to produce findings that generalise across multiple product markets. However, in addition to the results outlined in this report, the work has resulted in new experimental methods that can be applied to more specific consumer policy issues. This is possible because the methods generate experimental measures of the accuracy of consumers’ decision-making. As such, they can be adapted to assess the quality of consumers’ decisions in relation to specific products, pricing and marketing practices. Work is underway in PRICE Lab that applies these methods to issues in specific markets, including those for personal loans, energy and mobile phones.

Executive summary South-East Queensland (SEQ) is Australia’s third-largest regional hub for textile, clothing, and footwear (TCF) manufacturing in terms of economic output and workforce. As Australia pursues policies to reshore manufacturing, creating higher-quality jobs in areas such as sorting, repair, resale, remanufacture to meet environmental targets and growing consumer demand for sustainably and ethically produced goods, the importance of ethical accreditation frameworks has become more pronounced. The aim of this study is to explore stakeholder perceptions of the benefits and barriers of ethical accreditation for TCF businesses in SEQ. It provides recommendations that support the region as a leader in ethical TCF manufacturing while supporting sustainability goals and worker protection. This report draws on research conducted in 2024, which included in-depth interviews with both ECA-accredited and non-accredited manufacturers, as well as a survey targeting stakeholders in the SEQ TCF industry. Data collection was centred on three key objectives: to understand businesses knowledge about ethical accreditation; to understand the role that accreditation plays for the growth of the industry; and to evaluate the opportunities and barriers surrounding ethical accreditation in SEQ. The findings highlight a complex landscape in which TCF businesses in Queensland are grappling with challenges related to legal compliance, accreditation and local manufacturing growth. While there is an awareness of the benefits of ethical accreditation, barriers such as knowledge gaps, the costs and time involved in the accreditation process, and resistance to external audits remain prevalent. Government policies that favour accredited businesses suggests that targeted incentives and support mechanisms are key to overcoming these barriers. Additionally, the skills gap in local manufacturing calls for a more coordinated and long-term strategy to ensure the growth and sustainability of the sector both in Queensland and Australia. Addressing these issues will be crucial in fostering an ethical and competitive TCF industry in the state.

The making of projections often requires an economy-wide perspective, and the estimation of consumer demands at the international level. In this paper, an implicit, directly additive demand system (AIDADS) is estimated using cross-country data on consumer expenditures from the International Comparison Program (ICP), and then from Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) data. The two data sets are found to produce results that are quite consistent despite their differing origins, and the fact that the former is based on consumer goods that embody wholesale/retail margins, while margin demands are treated separately in GTAP. Given the similarity of the results, the estimation based on GTAP data is favored because it is readily matched to input-output based production and trade data, and provides valuable new information concerning how aggregate margin expenditures are related to per capita income.

The making of projections often requires an economy-wide perspective, and the estimation of consumer demands at the international level. In this paper, an implicit, directly additive demand system (AIDADS) is estimated using cross-country data on consumer expenditures from the International Comparison Program (ICP), and then from Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) data. The two data sets are found to produce results that are quite consistent despite their differing origins, and the fact that the former is based on consumer goods that embody wholesale/retail margins, while margin demands are treated separately in GTAP. Given the similarity of the results, the estimation based on GTAP data is favored because it is readily matched to input-output based production and trade data, and provides valuable new information concerning how aggregate margin expenditures are related to per capita income.

Technological innovation has become a key driver of economic development. Technological progress results in countries’ ability to produce beyond their typical production possibilities, while also altering how they consume.4 Over recent decades, however, the expansion of technology and innovation has evolved with new and more efficient ways of delivering goods and services. For example, new technology such as nanotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI) and photonics5 are upgrading old technologies, contributing to the expansion of new trade in the service sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has also added to the acceleration of deeper digitalisation among countries and across industries and businesses.

Reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions are two cornerstones of the fight against climate change. Signaling negative externalities of individual consumption on the environment is at the heart of public policies, and usually materializes through an increase in the price of polluting good and services. However, social resistance typically arises when such policies are implemented. In this experiment, we are interested in testing the context in which individuals would be willing to pay more for electricity. We use the situation of Québec (Canada), where low-cost hydropower sold below market value, akin to a consumption subsidy, leads to high residential consumption. Increasing regulated prices closer to their market value would result in a direct welfare gain and free some green energy, reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) in other sectors. The choice to pay more is a prisoner’s dilemma, and we find in this framework that giving clear and transparent information on the consequences of the price increase induces a majority of people to choose to pay more. In addition to the economic benefit of the public good, the presence of the environmental benefit increases contributions. Participants with a more severe budget constraint tend to contribute less. These results are encouraging for the development of efficient energy policies reducing GHG emissions.

The effect of consumers stockpiling certain goods and the slow reaction of retailers to ration them exposed the limitations of cost-efficient and streamlined supply chains to be agile and adapt to unforeseen shocks. This suggests that changes may be needed to make the supply chain more resilient. Specific problems arose from the closure of parts of the catering sector and the lack of agility in redistributing supplies from this sector to retail outlets or the food donation/charity sector. This was due to challenges in packaging availability, logistics and labelling requirements; leading to an increase in food loss. Agricultural food producers and the wider supply chain may have incurred significant losses from the impacts of COVID-19. Food processing facilities have been responsible for a number of localised COVID-19 outbreaks. This may be influenced by a range of factors, including the proximity of workers for prolonged periods, the need to speak loudly to communicate over the noise of the machines or the shared welfare spaces external to the factory setting. The immediate effects of COVID-19 on the food supply system are the current policy concern, but the longer-term food system issues highlighted as a result of the pandemic will have to be addressed by considering how to build resilience to possible future shocks.

Economic reasons are among the basic explanatory factors of migration, whether international or internally within a country. In turn, migratory movements have effects on the economy in terms of economic growth in general, but also in the different markets (work, housing, consumer goods, etc.) and public services (education, health, social services, etc.). The purpose of this document is to offer an overview of these interactions between migration and the economy in the case of the Canary Islands. To do this, certain conceptual clarifications will be made initially involving the mutual determination of both processes, before later providing specifics with evidence on the Canarian case for the main issues considered: the economic reasons for migration, and its impact on economic growth, the labour market and the living conditions of the immigrant population. The final section alludes to the importance of the institutional framework that regulates these relations between migration and the economy, which are far from being interpretable as a mechanical relationship and isolated from the political sphere.

The food services sector has been evolving rapidly over the past decade, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The traditional linear model of food producers selling through wholesalers to brick and mortar retailers, restaurants and hospitality venues is increasingly being displaced by complex interactive digital ecosystems of online food services providers. Consumers are increasingly able to access food directly at various stages along the traditional value chain via interaction with digital platforms and rapid home-delivery networks, realising greater convenience, more variety in food products and services from a dynamic start-up scene, and overall enhanced value. FSA needs to stay abreast of these changes and develop regulatory responses to ensure these innovations are aligned with the public good and do not compromise food safety and public health.