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Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Customer and Consumer

customer vs consumerDo you know the fact that we all are consumers in some way or the other, no matter what our age, gender, race, caste, community is. The consumer is the one who consumes the goods, i.e. the user of the goods. It is commonly misconstrued with the term customer, which refers to a person who buys the goods or commodity and pays the price for it.

Each and every marketing activity is directed towards influencing the behavior of customers, i.e. to induce them in such a way that they take an action intended by marketers. So, customers are regarded as the king of the business.

In the business world, these words are used scores of times in a day and most of the time they are used interchangeably. There are instances when customer and consumer, both are same persons, meaning that when a person purchases goods for his/her personal use. But they are not one and the same thing, they carry different meanings, so take a read of the given article to understand the difference between the two.

Content: Customer Vs Consumer

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComparisonCustomerConsumer
MeaningThe purchaser of goods or services is known as the Customer.The end user of goods or services is known as a Consumer.
ResellA customer can be a business entity, who can purchase it for the purpose of resale.No
Purchase of goodsYesNot necessary
PurposeResale or ConsumptionConsumption
Price of product or servicePaid by the customerMay not be paid by the consumer
PersonIndividual or OrganizationIndividual, Family or Group of people

Definition of Customer

By Customer, we mean a person who buys the goods or services and pays the price thereof. The word customer is derived from the term ‘custom’ which means ‘practice’, so the word customer means the individual or entity who purchases product or services from a seller at regular intervals. It can also be known as client or buyer. They are divided into two categories:

  • Trade Customers: The customers who purchase goods in order to add value and resell them. These include Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Distributors, Retailers etc.
  • Final Customer: They are the customers who purchase it either for their own use or to hand over it to the final user.

The customers are regarded as the king, in every business because they help in earning revenue. The businesses focus on converting shoppers into buyers. They also try to maintain a good relationship with the customers in order to keep the business going. Below given are the three kinds of customers:

  • Former customers or ex-customers
  • Existing customers
  • Prospective customers

Definition of Consumer

We define consumer, as a person who is the end user of the product. The word consumer is made from the word ‘consume’ which means ‘to use’. In this way, the word consumer means a person who purchases the product or service for his own use or consumption.

As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, it does not include the person who purchases the commodity for the purpose of adding value or resale for any commercial purpose. However, a person can use those goods or services to earn livelihood or self-employment. Any type of user, other than the buyer who purchases goods, consumes the goods by taking permission of the buyer will also come under the category of Consumer. It includes the person who avails the services for any consideration. Moreover, the beneficiary of such services will also be regarded as the consumer. There are three Consumer protection council in India:

  • At national level: Central Protection Council
  • At state level: State Protection Council
  • At district level: District Protection Council

Key Differences Between Customer and Consumer

The fundamental differences between customer and consumer, in marketing are described below:

  1. The person who buys the goods or services from a seller is known as the Customer. The person who uses the goods or services is known as a Consumer.
  2. The customer is also known as buyer or client whereas the Consumer is the ultimate user of the goods.
  3. The customer can be an individual or a business entity while a Consumer can be an individual or a family or a group of people.
  4. Customer pays the price of the product or service however he may recover it from the other party, in case if he had purchased it on behalf of any person. Conversely, Consumer not necessarily pays the price of the product, like in case the goods are gifted or if they are purchased by the parents of a child.
  5. The customer purchases the goods for the purpose of resale or to add value or for his personal use or on behalf of another person. In contrast to Consumer, who purchases the goods for the purpose of consumption only.

Conclusion

So from the above discussion, it is clear that the person who is a customer is not necessarily a consumer and vice versa. Now, it is a big question for many marketing executives to whom they focus on a customer or a consumer?

Enterprises must focus on the two as they should take care of what is demanded of the product by the consumer as well as they should advertise the product so well that it will grab the attention of the millions of customers instantly because the buying decision is taken by the two together or by keeping in view of the other. So, the companies should give equal importance to both.

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Comments

  1. nivedha says

    March 26, 2016 at 9:16 am

    The way of describing differences is very easy to understand..

    Reply
  2. Hope says

    April 2, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    very helpful, great job

    Reply
  3. Jhansi Maricruz says

    April 11, 2016 at 5:15 am

    The way you explained it made it clear and I was able to pass my exams, thanks

    Reply
  4. Gul Khan says

    April 12, 2016 at 4:58 am

    Now, I got completely about both of them up to now I couldn’t differ between customer and consumer, but now I can.

    Reply
  5. Nat says

    April 20, 2016 at 11:37 am

    Very clear and easy to understand.

    Reply
  6. Anupama Das Adhikary says

    June 11, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    It’s easy to understand..

    Reply
  7. Kat says

    August 26, 2016 at 8:43 am

    Very helpful, thank you.

    Reply
  8. sahan says

    January 7, 2017 at 8:45 am

    Thanks . Very clear. Easy to use

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      January 7, 2017 at 9:39 am

      We are really contented with your views, thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  9. Aish says

    April 4, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    Nice description

    Reply
  10. Aish says

    May 12, 2017 at 2:36 pm

    Nice content.

    Reply
  11. Giang Pham says

    July 19, 2017 at 1:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing. In case coffee shop owner buys coffee beans from farmers, then they process them, roasting, grinding, then selling cups of coffee in the cafeteria, coffee shop owner is customer or consumer? The product that coffee shop owner buys is coffee bean and what he sells is ground coffee, which is different from each other.

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      July 20, 2017 at 9:47 am

      The coffee shop owner is a cutomer.

      Reply
  12. isaac akuntam says

    December 10, 2018 at 8:52 pm

    very good and simple language,thanks so much for the insight

    Reply
  13. Aliff says

    March 11, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    Simple , answered and nice explain.

    Reply
  14. Kavishka says

    March 12, 2019 at 7:12 pm

    Very Helpful…

    Reply
  15. Basil says

    May 11, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    Now I know. But is it right to say all consumers are customers but all customers are not consumers?
    Thanks.
    Basil

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      May 11, 2019 at 3:47 pm

      yes

      Reply
  16. Rajani says

    March 10, 2020 at 2:01 am

    your explanation and content was good , very clear.

    I have a doubt.
    If a person buys a tractor and gives it to another to use on rent. won’t it be also a customer as he gave it on rent though there is no reselling happening .
    Another is suppose a person buys a car and gives it to his driver to drive.
    it won’t be customer- consumer relation as there is no reselling happening.

    Reply
  17. Gabo says

    June 2, 2020 at 4:27 pm

    Great job,

    a big thank you from Kurdistan-Iraq

    Reply
  18. Akash Sajikumar says

    March 23, 2021 at 9:19 pm

    I was so confused 🤣 between the customer and consumer… Thank you for solving my issue GREAT explanation and easily understandable…

    Reply

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