Consumer awareness, which refers to a buyer's knowledge of a particular product or company, allows the buyer to get the most from their purchases. Consumers can make well-informed choices about what to buy and how much to spend when they have product information. Consumers benefit from knowing their rights and reviewing alerts and warnings.
Product Information
Consumers can benefit from information about products that comes from third parties unrelated to the company that sells the product or service. Consumer-review websites, such as Consumer World, provide price and feature comparisons of products and information on shopping. Examples include a comparison of the dependability of different cars on the market or opinions about the best companies in a specific category. Consumer Reports magazine publishes reviews and ratings of all sorts of products.
Agencies and Groups Can Help
Government agencies and consumer groups often begin consumer-awareness campaigns to help people understand new products in the marketplace. Examples of this include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) giving consumers information on food product labels and the 2009 conversion from analog to digital television.
Consumer Rights
Consumer-rights awareness helps consumers know what to expect from companies that supply products and services. The Federal Trade Commission provides consumer awareness information. One of its aims is to help consumers avoid being scammed or ripped off and exercising consumer rights when needed For instance, the FTC helps you understand your rights in buying a car, financing a car, and any rights you would have if you defaulted on your loan.
Read More: List of Consumer Rights and Responsibilities
Fraud Warnings
Consumer warnings are a part of consumer awareness. Knowing about fraud alerts, identity scams and deceptive practices by retailers can help protect consumers when making purchases. The FTC website “Deter, Detect, Defend” gives consumer resources that help them understand what identity fraud is as well as recognize it and know what to do about it.
Safety Awareness
Consumer awareness can increase safety and even save lives. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is a resource for information on safety of products, including recalls of equipment and safety warnings. The organization has recalled such items as girls' hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings because of a strangulation hazard and baby slings because of the risk of suffocation.
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Writer Bio
Julia Thomas started her professional writing career in 1991 writing poetry for "Potpourri" magazine. Thomas studied secondary English education and creative writing at Wichita State University, where she earned honors. Thomas has written short stories and started a novel since 2002, and has done Internet writing since 2006.