Nuove forme di consumerismo: dai consumi critici al low cost

According to the European Community, the protection of consumers’ economic interests and consumers information and education are two of the distinguishing features of consumerism and are also the basis of spreading consumption practices. Indeed, recent studies highlight, among Italian consumers, on the one hand the willingness to be responsible consumers and, on the other, the renewed focus on price as a discriminant variable for purchases. This paper sets out to retrace some of the consumption scenarios where these trends emerge more clearly: the so-called critical consumption and the spread of low cost. In both these practices, saving motivations leading to the quest for the best bargain intertwine with more ideological ones leading to consumer behaviors that assume critical nuances.