Consumer behavior—or how people buy and use goods and services—is a rich field of psychological research, particularly for companies trying to sell products to as many potential customers as possible.

Businesses use past, present and (potentially) future consumer behavior to develop product, pricing, distribution and messaging strategies – all four elements of the "Four Ps" of the marketing mix: ...

Organizations of all sizes acknowledge the importance of consumer research. Multinational companies use advanced analytics and conduct large-scale studies to better understand their target market.