Consumer dynamics: theories, methods, and emerging directions

Consumer attitudes and behaviors are fundamentally dynamic processes; thus, understanding consumer dynamics is crucial for truly understanding consumer behaviors and for firms to formulate appropriate actions. Recent history in empirical marketing research has enjoyed increasingly richer consumer data as the result of technology and firms’ conscious data collection efforts. Richer data, in turn, have propelled the development and application of quantitative methods in modeling consumer dynamics, and have contributed to the understanding of complex dynamic behaviors across many domains. In this paper, we discuss the sources of consumer dynamics and how our understanding in this area has improved over the past four decades. Accordingly, we discuss several commonly used empirical methods for conducting dynamics research. Finally, as the data evolution continues into new forms and new environments, we identify cutting-edge trends and domains, and offer directions for advancing the understanding of consumer dynamics in these emerging areas.