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Vulnerable consumers and debt: Can social marketing assist?

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  • Brennan, Linda
  • Zevallos, Zuleyka
  • Binney, Wayne

Abstract

There has been an increase in consumers’ reliance on credit and rising consumer debt. The increase is especially problematic for those least able to afford debt of any kind – welfare recipients. This qualitative study reports on 120 Australian welfare recipients’ attitudes towards debt, their understanding about what constitutes acceptable debt and the debt-management strategies they adopt. The results of this research show that welfare recipients see debt as a way of life and as a means of survival in a society where a core value appears (to them) to be the acquisition of material wealth. Their status as income earners and therefore their capacity to service debt is less than others. Consequently, we could expect that their debt levels would be proportionally less; however, many participants in this research did not appear to understand the long term consequences of their level of debt. The paper concludes with a discussion as to how social marketing can be applied to potentially assist this vulnerable consumer group and the wider community.

Suggested Citation

  • Brennan, Linda & Zevallos, Zuleyka & Binney, Wayne, 2011. "Vulnerable consumers and debt: Can social marketing assist?," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 203-211.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:19:y:2011:i:3:p:203-211
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2011.05.007
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    2. Chi-Horng Liao, 2020. "Evaluating the Social Marketing Success Criteria in Health Promotion: A F-DEMATEL Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Meng, Jie & Layton, Roger & Huang, Yimin, 2016. "Why do some consumers shop in this pharmacy? A cross-check of vulnerable characteristics and store types," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 116-130.
    4. Rituparna Basu & Anil Kumar & Satish Kumar, 2023. "Twenty‐five years of consumer vulnerability research: Critical insights and future directions," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 673-695, January.
    5. Corina MURAFA, 2022. "Energy poverty and the vulnerable energy consumer in Romania: A curious case of policy schizophrenia," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(4(633), W), pages 57-68, Winter.
    6. Tunca, Burak & Anselmsson, Johan, 2019. "‘You are where you shop’: Examining stereotypes about town center shoppers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 242-252.
    7. Fletcher-Brown, Judith & Turnbull, Sarah & Viglia, Giampaolo & Chen, Tom & Pereira, Vijay, 2021. "Vulnerable consumer engagement: How corporate social media can facilitate the replenishment of depleted resources," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 518-529.

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