Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to suggest some of the implications of this consumerist movement upon our own market research activities. I begin with a brief historical account of how it has developed in the United Kingdom - a development which is probably paralleled by the equivalent phenomenon in most developed countries. We briefly rehearse the consumerist as arguments as such and the defences commonly put up against them. I review the role that Market Research has for many years played in safeguarding consumer interests - though at the time such projects were not seen in this light.