the.com/consumer
the unit of measurement economists use when humans get too complicated.
means A person who buys and uses goods and services, as distinct from one who makes or sells them.
from From Latin consumere, 'to use up, devour, waste,' built from con- (an intensifier) plus sumere, 'to take' (itself from sub- 'up' + emere 'to take, buy'). For centuries 'consume' carried a destructive edge — fire consumed, disease consumed (hence 'consumption' as the old name for tuberculosis). The economic 'consumer,' the polite figure who simply uses things up by buying them, is a much later flowering, rising with markets and mass production to stand opposite the 'producer.'
- word origin
- once meant someone who destroys or wastes
- medical past
- tuberculosis was called consumption for centuries
- invented identity
- a 20th-century rebrand of plain citizens
- attention price
- if free, you are the product sold
- spending power
- drives nearly 70% of US economy
amazon prime members — 200+ million subscribers globally as of 2024, purchasing goods and services
nestle customers — billions worldwide buying kit kat, purina, nespresso across 190 countries
walmart shoppers — 10.5 billion store visits annually in us alone, buying groceries and goods
tiktok users — 1.5 billion monthly active users consuming and sharing short-form video content