Author: Sheetal Kapoor
Author Affiliation: Department of Commerce, Kamala Nehru College University of Delhi
Abstract: Under the modern concept of marketing consumer is considered as King as all business related activities revolve around providing the maximum satisfaction to the consumer. After economic liberalisation, a myriad of consumer goods and services have flooded the global markets. As consumers, we fall prey to tall claims of high quality, unfair trade practices, fancy packaging and many times are unable to make rational judgement. Consumer protection encompasses all aspects of consumer welfare and has been internationally recognized in recent times. This is in tune with consumerism as a social force to aid and protect consumers by legal, moral as well as administrative and economic policy measures. The main thrust of consumerism to-day has widened to include a multitude of group actions concerned with human values and environmental considerations besides issues such as consumer protection laws, availability of product and price information, checking fraudulent and deceptive business practices and product safety. Consumer protection is a vital, but often ignored, issue in developing countries.Today consumers want value for money, a product or service that would meet reasonable expectations, should be safe in use and full disclosure of the product specification. With the rapid development of digital technologies and the increasing usage of e-commerce, smart phones, cloud and internet there is a change in the business paradigm. Business processes are transforming rapidly and Internet technology, mainly the World Wide Web (www) as an electronic medium of exchange has given rise to a de-territorial virtual market place. Keeping these concerns the present study has been undertaken to understand the rights of consumers and the level of consumer protection available in South Asian countries.
Keywords: Consumer, Consumerism, Consumer protection, Consumer Rights