Consumer behavior is one of the main factors in economic development. Consumer demand stimulates
economic growth and at the same time acts as an indicator reflecting the population’s standard
of living and the quality of life. The purpose for the study is to analyze the main theoretical and
methodological areas in the study of consumer behavior. Studies have shown that in the scientific
literature there are several common approaches (economic, sociological, socio-psychological,
marketing, analysis of consumer behavior in the context of behavioral economics) and a wide range
of variants of defining “consumer behavior”. Thus, according to economists, the central aspect of
“consumer behavior” is “the process of forming consumer demand for various goods and services
based on consumers’ income and personal preferences”. The sociological approach states that
consumer behavior is a social process driven by the actions of the operating social actors (consumers),
interests, behavior and interactions of social groups and strata, and depending on specific historical
and social conditions. The socio-psychological model represents consumer behavior as a special
case of social behavior regulated by values, attitudes, moods, emotions, and cognitive processes
of market participants. Marketing researchers consider consumer behavior as a set of actions
related to search, selection, payment, and use of the product, and the consumer’s assessment of
the correctness of the choice made. In our view, consumer behavior is a complex phenomenon and
requires a comprehensive study from the point of view of economics, political science, sociology
and psychology, marketing, economic theory and management. Amid market economy, the study of
consumption issues needs to be supplemented with the approach from the social point of view and,
above all, the population theory and demography
Keywords
theoretical and methodological approaches, consumer behavior, economic sociology, behavioral economics, marginal utility, elasticity of needs and demand