Difference between consumer and customer

Difference between consumer and customer

Do you know the fact that we are all consumers in some way or the other? No matter what age, gender, caste, or caste community we belong to.

The difference between customer and consumer is very less. Apart from both the terms being used frequently in the field of business, these words are often used in a similar context, which creates confusion.

What is the difference between customer and consumer? 

Customer

By customer, we mean the person who purchases the goods or services and pays the price thereof. A customer means a person or commodity who purchases goods or services from a seller at regular intervals. 

The person who buys any goods or services is called a customer. The customer is the buyer of the goods or services, which he can later use or resell himself. The customer can be an individual or an entire organization. It is also known by other names such as Buyer, Purchaser, client, etc.

Basically, There are mainly two types of customers

1. Business Customers:- Customers who buy goods to purchase goods and resell them. These include wholesalers, distributors, retailers, manufacturers, etc.

2. End Customer:- They are the customers who buy it for their own use or to hand it over to the end-user.

• Customers are considered the king in every business as they help earn revenue.
• Business shoppers focus on converting into buyers. They try to maintain a good relationship with the customers to continue the business.

Consumer

The person who uses the goods or services, in the end, is called the consumer. The consumer can be an individual or a family, etc. These people take goods or services for their own use. And most importantly, the consumer is the person who uses the goods. It is not necessary that he also buys the goods, 

For example: If one person in the house buys the goods and later he and all the members of his family use the goods. So in this case the person bringing the goods is both the customer and the consumer and the rest of the family members are the only consumers.

We define a consumer as the person who is the end-user of the product. Consumer means a person who buys a product or service for his own use or consumption. The Consumer Protection Act, of 1986 does not include a person who buys any article for commerce or resale.

However, a person can use those goods or services for liveliness or self-employment. Any type of user, other than the buyer, who consumes the goods with the permission of the buyer, comes under the category of consumer. This includes any person who avails the Services for any consideration.

There are three Consumer Protection Councils in India:

At National Level:- Central Conservation Council

At State Level:- State Protection Council

At the district level:- District Protection Council.

List of differences between customer and consumer

1. A person who buys goods or services from a seller is known as a customer. The person who uses the goods or services is known as the consumer

2. The customer is also known as the buyer or customer whereas the consumer is the final consumer of the goods.

3. The customer purchases the goods for the purpose of resale or for his personal use or associating on behalf of any other person. The consumer is the opposite who buys goods only for the purpose of consumption.

4. A customer can be an individual or a business entity, while a consumer can be an individual, a family, or a group of people.

5. The customer pays the price of the product or service but may recover it from the other party if he has purchased it on behalf of any person. Vice versa, the consumer does not pay the cost of the goods, as the goods are presented or purchased by the parents of a child.

6. A customer is a person who buys the goods or services and the consumer is the person who uses them.

7. A customer can be an individual or an organization but a consumer can be an individual or a family.

8. The customer buys the goods when it is not necessary for the consumer to purchase the goods.

9. The customer can also buy goods and sell them again for his own benefit, whereas the consumer buys goods only for his own use.

10. Buyers of goods can be both customers and consumers. But it is not necessary for the consumer to always buy the goods.

11. Customer can buy goods for business also but consumer buys goods only for their own use.

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