A consumer is a person who takes money from his pocket or account to purchase an item.

A consumer is a person or organization that uses economic services or commodities

The consumer is the one who pays something to consume goods and services produced.

As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation.

Without consumer demand, producers would lack one of the key motivations to produce: to sell to consumers. The consumer also forms part of the chain of distribution.

To take products off the market is only made possible if the product has no or looses consumers.

When a product has no consumers interested in buying, then the production of that product will be discontinued.

Recently in marketing instead of marketers generating broad demographic profiles and Fisio-graphic profiles of market segments, marketers have started to engage in personalized marketing, permission marketing, and mass customization.^[2]

Largely due the rise of the Internet, consumers are shifting more and more towards becoming “prosumers“, consumers that are also producers (often of information and media on the social web) or influence the products created (e.g. by customization, crowdfunding or publishing their preferences) or actively participate in the production process or use interactive products.