"The history of consumption has experienced remarkable growth since the 1980s, driven by the interest of scholars in a variety of historical subdisciplines and other social scientific fields. This volume seeks to bring the resultant diversity of specialized approaches into one common discourse....

"This book features research on diverse topics on consumerism in the global marketplace, focusing on the ways in which businesses can improve their relationships with customers as well as analyze and influence purchasing behavior"--

The emergence of contemporary consumerism -- The consumer as chooser -- The consumer as communicator -- The consumer as explorer -- The consumer as identity-seeker -- The consumer as hedonist -- The consumer as victim -- The consumer as rebel -- The consumer as activist -- The consumer as...