Consumer as Citizen

Consumers have been regarded by economists, policy makers, merchants, and producers as individuals who act purely out of self interest. Cooperation among consumers occurs in rare situations and generally only when lower prices can be obtained through volume purchasing power. Occasionally, boycotts and buycotts are organized to influence things other than price, but these are inconsistently applied, require significant resources to organize and ultimately involve only those consumers with a strong conviction to influence producer behavior.

Why have consumers not adopted a more cooperative approach to purchasing goods and services? One clear reason is that they have lacked convenient means to connect with other consumers and form cooperatives.