Consumption Megatrends in the Conditions of Globalization

Globalisation may be viewed as one of the key determinants of today’s economic processes. Globalisation processes, together with related progress, innovation and liberalisation of international information, money, people and material goods flows, are leading to the emergence of a socio-political and economic environment of a new quality. The ongoing integration of countries and citizens of the world and the abolition of cross-border barriers are bringing about not only free movement of capital, knowledge and workers, but also increased accessibility and availability of products. These processes affect the market behaviour of modern consumers, thereby fostering the international intertwining of consumption patterns and creating a global consumer culture and global consumer segments distinguished by values, behaviour and attitudes to goods and brands. Consumers who purchase similar products begin to discern interrelated patterns and start to form groups around shared interests, experiences and needs. The exchange of experiences between consumers contributes to the spread of purchasing habits, crowding out those products that failed to meet expectations. Thus, the consumer begins to affect the functioning of the producer [Aldridge, 2006, pp. 156–158]. According to Z. Bauman, everyone (...) considers globalisation to be the inevitable fate of the world and an irreversible process that affects all of us to the same extent and in the same way [Bauman, 2000, p. 5]. This opinion is obviously right, since changes in modern consumers’ behaviour that accompany globalisation are manifested, among others, as initiating new forms of consumption, developing new products and new points of sale, satisfying needs in new ways and increasing consumer activity on the market.