Retailing and the Consumer
In part I, we discuss the issue of consumer resistance in retail through three broad chapters. First, we provide an overview of the history of the consumer society, followed by a history of shopping. Setting this context is important as consumer resistance emerges from social and economic history, and given that societies and retailing have developed alongside each other, it is necessary to appreciate the development of these two interrelated areas. In these first two chapters, we present a short history of modern retailing that includes looking back at how society has been transformed as a result of the shift from a production base to a consumer society. Our final chapter in part I, chapter 3, provides a background to the types of consumers that drive resistance in retail. We provide an overview of three different (but not mutually exclusive) types of consumers: the ethical consumer, the green consumer, and the activist consumer. This context provides a foundation to move on to the broader notion of the inscrutable shopper and discuss, in greater detail, the trends, values, and motivations that drive consumer resistance in retail. In preparing this book from research conducted over the last decade, it became apparent that there are many elements of consumer resistance that are underresearched or, as of yet, not researched at all. Working within these limitations, we have identified several of these elements as areas for future research.