MKT301 Consumer Behaviour: Impact of Online Consumer Movements

This essay examines the growing influence of consumer movements in the digital age, focusing on how social media and online platforms have empowered consumers to collectively impact brand behavior and marketing strategies. It analyzes the shift in power dynamics from businesses to consumers, highlighting examples such as the H&M controversy and the Israeli cottage cheese boycott to demonstrate the effectiveness of consumer activism in driving change. The essay also discusses the importance of online reviews and ethical standards in shaping consumer perceptions and organizational practices, concluding that consumer activism is a significant force that compels brands to prioritize customer satisfaction and improve product offerings. The increasing competition among marketers and the widespread use of technology have further amplified the impact of consumer movements, leading to continuous improvements in industries and individual lifestyles.

Consumer movements

Introduction
In the present marketing scenario, Consumer is the king. All leading organizations aim to satisfy
their customers as a top priority and strategy for the growth of the brand. Over a period of time,
customers have become increasingly aware and there has been a noticeable power shift from the
manufacturers and sellers to the consumers of the product or service. It is the consumers who
create demand and it becomes the responsibility of the marketers to fulfill those demands (Ishak
& Zabil, 2012). The advent of technology and the increasing number of players in every industry
have allowed this shift of power towards the consumers.
Since a long period of time, customers have been cheated and disregarded by businesses. In
practicality, a consumer held no power and they could do little about manipulating the product
quality or the product price. There were limited options available to customers in terms of
industry offerings and they had to make do with the little available alternatives. Over time, these
trends changed. Governments started promoting entrepreneurships and the overall industry
offerings improved. With the growing technology, customers started communities and making
each other aware. This technological advancement led to the birth of social media which
connected billions of individuals from across the globe through a single platform. This essay
highlights upon how this shift occurred and how have customers taken the baton and influenced
leading brands. The essay also talks about how organizations have understood the power of
consumer activism and the steps that they have taken to ensure positive positioning in the minds
of customers
Research and analysis
Consumer activism and awareness plays a significant role in the buying behavior of customers.
There are several factors that have led to consumer activism. The most important of these factors
is the availability of a unified platform for customers in the form of social media. Social media
plays a critical role in enhancing customer awareness (Agnihotri et. al., 2016). In fact these
social media platforms largely impact consumer decisions, buying behavior, patterns and
preferences. This is precisely the reason why organizations invest so heavily in their social media
marketing strategies. Product positioning plays a significant role in ensuring business success.

These platforms have enhanced customer awareness but have also created a platform for
businesses to set the right positioning in the minds of customers (Sigala et. al., 2012). These
platforms have given a voice to both businesses as well as its customers.
Of many social media platforms, Twitter has played the most significant protagonist in consumer
activism. All leading organizations announce their new products, policies, services and
leadership through this platform. Twitter gives a voice to organizations as well as customers in
different parts of the world. Product or service quality offered by businesses play a significant
role in ensuring customer satisfaction. Today organizations put tremendous efforts in ensuring
the quality of their offerings because they understand that compromising with the quality of
product offering can have much dire consequences as compared to a few years ago.
Every leading brand has a twitter account. It is through this platform that organizations
communicate with customers and customer communicate with each other. A bad customer
review of a leading brand garners urgent attention of the brand. This results in immediate and
improved customer service offered to consumers enhancing their power in the dynamic.
Customers can offer their feedback about the product or service they have received. This review
is posted on a public forum and is hence accessible to all customers of the brand in different parts
of the world. These reviews increase customer awareness and lead to improved services by the
brand.
Today consumers have also gained power because they come together in a united front. A
negative review posted by a customer about a brand is further shared by other customers in order
to ensure that more people become aware about the fault in the product offered by the firm. This
compels the business to take immediate actions regarding the product which in turn leads to
improved service quality.
This customer unity, awareness and power also ensures that organizations are ethical in their
behavior, advertisements and service quality. Recently a leading apparel brand, H&M, unveiled a
new advertisement for a T-shirt. The quote on the T-shirt read “Coolest monkey in the jungle”.
However, the child that modeled for the T-Shirt was an African. A few hours after the
advertisement was released, customers were offended by the advertisement and considered the
ad highly racist (Langenfeld et. al., 2018). Thanks to social media and specifically Twitter, the

news spread like wild fire. The hashtag #BoycottH&M went viral. Leading celebrities like
American Rapper Diddy, model, Rapper G-Eazy, Actor Jesse Williams, Basketball superstar
LeBron James and activist Sir Maejor and influencer Mina Mayweather took to twitter and
expressed their disappointment with the brand (The Independent, 2018).
Source 1: Twitter
Source 2: Twitter
After facing immense wrath from all their customers, the brand had to finally take down the
advertisement. H&M apologized about this insensitivity and assured customers that they have no
such intentions. Such is the power of social media. Consumers come together, create movements
and fulfill their goals. Such consumer movements allow brands to understand the real power that
lies with customers. When such movements become succes

sful, customers take more
efforts to address their grievances as consumers and social media platforms provide them with
the most appropriate tool to achieve the same.
In 2011, one such movement was launched in Israel. Cottage cheese is the staple food of the
country and has been so since decades. Until 2006, the price of Cottage cheese was regulated by
the government of Israel. However, in the year 2006, the price was deregulated which led to a
sharp inflation in the price of cottage cheese. By 2011, the price of cottage cheese had peaked to
NIS 7 or USD 1.97 per container which was 43% higher than that in 2006 (Hendel et. al., 2015).
Extensive news regarding the price hike was followed by a Facebook event which was created
on 14 June, 2011. The event urged customers of cottage cheese to boycott the product till the
price of it reaches NIS 5 or USD 1.41. This particular event received immense attention from
customers all over the country and was joined by more than 105000 Facebook users (Levin,
2012).
Data revealed that the Boycott has immediate impact. Various super markets and grocery stores
started offering mammoth discounts on the product. Special promotional prices were introduced
(Greene et. al., 2012). Marketers understood the power of their consumers and that there can be
no supply if the demand is removed. Even today, the price of cottage cheese in Israel is under
NIS 6. It is only with the power of social media that consumers can begin movements that can
largely impact product supply, product quality as well as product prices.
Over a period of time, there has been a major shift in the buying patterns of customers as well.
This shift is predominantly evident in terms of individual shift from offline to online shopping.
Customers no longer feel the need to visit shopping malls or mom and pop stores in order to

fulfill their needs. The products they are simply a click away and get delivered at their doorstep.
Along with the added convenience that online shopping has presented to consumer, another
advantage of this changing pattern is customer awareness. Customers visit Ecommerce
platforms, select a product of their choice and make an informed decision after analyzing
customer reviews. This community of people that allows customers sitting in varied locations to
share their personal experiences of the products largely enhances customer awareness level
within different industries.
Source 3: Amazon Inc.
Organizations have also understood the importance and the changing trend towards a digital
customer. Therefore now brands not only encourage customers to post reviews but they also
ensure that positive customer reviews are shared across different platforms and has an enhanced
reach (Sashi, 2012). Organizations tend to be a lot of more careful about their behavior and
hence have known to have improved ethical standards.

Conclusion
Consumer activism is not a myth. It is a reality that organizations are becoming aware of.
Customers today have realized the power that they hold and ensure that organizations deliver the
best. Be it in the case of H&M or the price of cottage cheese in Israel, the power of customers
has been able to bring about a change. All leading brands understand the power that lies with
customers and hence they put tremendous efforts to ensure customer satisfaction (Kim & Ko,
2012). This has led to an overall improvement of various industries.
The fact that customers have become more active and aware has been possible with increasing
competition among marketers and growing use of technology. As long as customers continue to
take the baton, unite, enhance awareness and stay active, the industries will continue to boom
leading to an overall improvement in individual lifestyles and product offerings by marketers.

References
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