A consumer is someone who buys and uses goods or services. When you walk into a store and purchase a candy bar, you're acting as a consumer. When your parents pay for groceries, streaming services, or a haircut, they're consumers too.

In economics, it describes one side of a basic relationship: producers make things, and consumers buy and use them. A farmer who grows apples is a producer, but when that same farmer buys a new tractor, he becomes a consumer. Most people play both roles at different times.

In everyday conversation, consumer often appears when discussing how products are made or marketed. Companies conduct consumer research to understand what people want to buy. Consumer protection laws exist to keep products safe and prevent dishonest advertising. A consumer product is something ordinary people buy, like toothpaste or sneakers, as opposed to specialized equipment that only professionals use.

The word can carry a slightly negative tone when describing overconsumption. Someone might criticize our consumer culture if they think people buy too much stuff they don't really need. But at its heart, consumer simply describes the practical reality that people need to buy things: food, clothes, books, and countless other goods and services that make modern life possible.