Information culture in the context of managing consumer needs

The article is devoted to the study of the content features of the conceptualization the interaction between economic and socio-cultural needs. It was found that the management of consumption needs is determined by economic, socio-cultural, informational and communication factors. In the course of the study, it was established that the conceptual sphere of consumer needs is considered by modern researchers as a system of structuring types of needs based on the consumers’wishes and preferences, establishing a level hierarchy of needs, determining the types of economic behavior and the nature of the interaction between economic and socio-cultural needs. It is noted that one of the defining features of the socio-cultural development of the post-industrial age is the dominance of the mass and its orientation towards comfort and spectacle, which leads to the preference of a specific type of consumption, the characteristic features of which are stereotyping, demonstrativeness, homogeneity, uniformity and fetishization of material needs. This type of consumption is called demonstrative, it is compatible with irrational forms of consumer behavior, which is characterized by symbolic values of consumption as manifestations of prestige, status, well-being, ownership, following fashion or trend, as well as simulativeness as a shift of emphasis from the object of consumer interest to its perception. On the contrary to this type of consumption, rational economic behavior is justified, which is traditionally defined by such features as taking into account the maximization of benefits and the minimization of costs and risks. Attention is drawn to the fact that the complexity of consumer behavior is explained by the large amounts of information spreading in modern economic space, which is an important need of a person, as well as a construct of the information-network economy and, therefore, is on the top of strategic importance. Besides, it was noted that freedom of accessing information not only increases the possibilities of consumer choice, but also contains potential risks of misinforming and unconscious choices due to manipulative psychological influence