Marketing and Consumer Behavior

International Academy
Dec 1, 2025
9 min read

Author: Dr. Nadia Fernández

Affiliation: Independent Researcher

Abstract

Marketing and consumer behavior have become more deeply interconnected than ever before, especially with the rise of digital platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-driven decision-making. Consumers today live in an environment defined by constant connectivity, algorithmic curation, and rapid trend cycles. Marketers, in response, use sophisticated tools that track behavior, predict preferences, and design personalized experiences in real time. The result is a complex landscape marked by opportunities for value creation but also tensions related to privacy, manipulation, sustainability, and global digital inequality.

This article examines marketing and consumer behavior as a trending topic in 2024–2025 using a comprehensive narrative review supported by three theoretical perspectives: Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, world-systems theory, and institutional isomorphism. Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital, and fields help explain how consumer tastes and marketing practices reinforce social distinctions. World-systems theory illuminates how global digital infrastructures are concentrated in a few core economies, shaping marketing possibilities around the world. Institutional isomorphism explains why firms increasingly adopt similar digital marketing strategies, ethical discourses, and data governance practices under regulatory, competitive, and professional pressures.

The analysis identifies key trends in digital and social media marketing, influencer strategies, AI-driven personalization, sustainability communication, and shifting consumer expectations. Findings emphasize that marketing both shapes and is shaped by consumer behavior, while also participating in larger struggles over symbolic capital, global power, and institutional norms. The article concludes with implications for marketers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to build ethical, inclusive, and sustainable marketing systems.

1. Introduction

Marketing has always aimed to influence what people buy and how they behave. Consumer behavior research, in turn, has tried to explain why people form attitudes, make choices, and build emotional relationships with brands. For much of the twentieth century these two fields were closely related but moved at manageable speeds. Companies had limited ways of communicating with consumers, and consumer reactions were difficult to measure in real time.

The rise of digital technologies changed this relationship completely. Consumers now live in a perpetual flow of content delivered by smartphones, social platforms, streaming services, e-commerce sites, and algorithmic feeds. They no longer receive messages passively; instead, they create, remix, and respond to marketing content actively and continuously. They compare prices instantly, read reviews, watch unboxing videos, follow influencers, and make purchases without ever entering a physical store.

Marketers responded by adopting new tools—data analytics, automated platforms, artificial intelligence, and real-time personalization—that allow them to track behavioral signals, predict preferences, and tailor messages to individuals. The result is a marketing environment defined by:

Interactivity: consumers speak back to brands publicly and collectively
Traceability: behavior is recorded, analyzed, and used to refine marketing
Personalization: content, recommendations, and prices can be uniquely tailored
Acceleration: trends appear and fade at unprecedented speed

Marketing and consumer behavior have therefore become inseparable. Consumer behavior shapes what marketers do, while marketers shape consumer preferences and decision environments. But this relationship is not purely technological; it is also cultural, political, and institutional.

Today, marketing raises several key questions:

How do digital and social media platforms influence consumer thinking and behavior?
How do AI-driven personalization and big data reshape decision-making?
How do sustainability values and ethical concerns influence consumption?
How do global inequalities and institutional pressures shape marketing practices?

This article answers these questions by combining recent literature with strong theoretical perspectives. It offers a human-readable yet deeply analytical overview suitable for academic publication.

2. Background and Theoretical Framework

2.1 Contemporary Marketing: From Mass Communication to Personalization

In traditional marketing, companies divided consumers into broad segments and communicated through one-directional channels such as television, radio, and print. Segmentation was based mainly on demographics. Feedback was slow, and marketers often relied on assumptions rather than real behavioral data.

Digital technologies changed all of that. Three major developments reshaped the field:

1. Social Media and User-Generated Content

Consumers now shape brand narratives through reviews, posts, videos, and comments. Brand reputation is built collectively, not exclusively by companies.

2. Big Data Analytics

Large volumes of behavioral data—from clicks to purchases to dwell times—allow firms to understand consumer journeys with great precision.

3. Artificial Intelligence and Automation

Machine learning models make predictions about consumer preferences, enabling real-time adaptation of content, promotions, and interfaces.

Consumers benefit from convenience and personalization, yet concerns about privacy, fairness, and transparency have also grown. Marketing has become more powerful but also more contested.

2.2 Bourdieu: Habitus, Capital, and Fields of Consumption

Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice provides a strong sociological foundation for understanding consumer behavior.

Habitus refers to deeply ingrained dispositions—the tastes, preferences, and behavioral patterns that individuals acquire through their upbringing and social environment. It influences what consumers find appealing, trustworthy, or “for people like me.”

Capital exists in several forms:

Economic capital (financial resources)
Cultural capital (knowledge, education, taste)
Social capital (networks and connections)
Symbolic capital (prestige, recognition, legitimacy)

In the digital era, scholars add:

Digital capital (skills and literacy around digital tools)
Algorithmic capital (ability to influence visibility and rankings in digital platforms)

Fields are structured arenas where actors compete for capital. Marketing is a field, and so is consumption itself. Influencer marketing, for example, is a struggle for symbolic capital—who appears authentic, stylish, trustworthy, or socially valuable.

Applying Bourdieu to marketing reveals that:

Consumption choices often signal social identity
“Taste” is partly socially constructed and reproduced
Marketing amplifies symbolic struggles through lifestyle branding
Influencers act as cultural intermediaries shaping aspiration and distinction

Digital platforms intensify these dynamics by making consumer choices publicly visible through likes, shares, and follower counts.

2.3 World-Systems Theory: Global Hierarchies in Digital Marketing

World-systems theory divides the world into:

Core regions—highly developed economies that control technology, finance, and cultural production
Semi-peripheral regions—intermediate economies with mixed strengths
Peripheral regions—economies dependent on the core for technology and capital

This structure applies strongly to digital marketing:

Core countries host major digital platforms, cloud providers, and AI developers
Digital infrastructures (algorithms, data governance, content moderation) are controlled by firms in these regions
Peripheral regions depend heavily on imported platforms and have limited control over data sovereignty

As a result:

Value generated by consumer attention often flows back to core firms
Marketing strategies in many regions are shaped by platform algorithms and norms developed elsewhere
Cultural homogenization may occur as global platforms promote similar content worldwide

World-systems theory reminds us that consumer behavior is shaped not only by personal preference but by global political economy.

2.4 Institutional Isomorphism: Why Marketing Practices Converge

Institutional isomorphism describes how organisations become more similar over time due to:

Coercive Forces

Regulations—such as data protection rules, advertising standards, and disclosure requirements—pressure firms to adopt similar behaviors.

Mimetic Forces

Under uncertainty, firms imitate successful competitors. If a major retailer adopts AI-driven personalization, others follow.

Normative Forces

Professional education, industry associations, and consulting frameworks promote shared standards such as omnichannel marketing, customer experience design, and AI ethics.

This explains why:

Firms adopt similar concepts such as “customer-centricity,” “sustainability,” and “brand purpose”
Privacy banners and consent mechanisms look alike
Influencer disclosure rules become standardized
Ethical guidelines for AI are widespread, even if implementation varies

Isomorphism helps identify the gap between symbolic compliance and real transformation.

3. Method

This research uses a qualitative narrative review and conceptual synthesis.

3.1 Literature Scope

Sources include:

Peer-reviewed studies on digital marketing, social media marketing, AI personalization, sustainability marketing, and consumer decision-making (2019–2025)
Theoretical works by Pierre Bourdieu, Immanuel Wallerstein, and institutional theorists
Consumer trend reports and behavioral insights from the period 2020–2025
Cross-cultural research on Generation Z, influencer credibility, and sustainability values

3.2 Analytical Approach

The analysis involved:

Identifying themes in contemporary marketing and consumer behavior
Mapping these themes to theoretical frameworks
Synthesizing the results into an integrated explanatory narrative

This method allows both empirical richness and theoretical depth.

4. Analysis

4.1 Digital and Social Media Marketing

Digital and social media platforms are the primary arenas where marketers and consumers interact. Consumers search for product information, evaluate reviews, compare alternatives, and share experiences online.

Influencer marketing has become one of the most influential tools. Influencers operate at the intersection of personal storytelling, lifestyle branding, and commercial promotion. They convert:

their social capital (followers)
their cultural capital (expertise, aesthetics)
their symbolic capital (credibility)

into economic capital through sponsored content and brand partnerships.

Consumers view influencer recommendations as more credible than traditional advertising, provided they appear authentic and genuinely aligned with the influencer’s persona. This blurring of personal identity and commercial messaging is central to contemporary consumer culture.

Social media also accelerates trend cycles. What becomes fashionable today may be outdated in a month. Viral content, short-form videos, and algorithmic feeds amplify visibility for certain products while burying others.

4.2 AI, Big Data, and Personalized Marketing

AI-driven personalization is now standard in e-commerce, streaming services, travel platforms, and financial services.

AI enables:

Recommendation engines—suggesting products or content tailored to past behavior
Automated pricing and promotions—adjusted dynamically
Chatbots and virtual assistants—available 24/7
Predictive analytics—forecasting churn, likely purchases, and customer lifetime value

Benefits include:

Reduced search costs
Better product–consumer match
Higher satisfaction
Greater convenience

But risks include:

Privacy violations
Opaque profiling
Hidden discrimination
Manipulative nudging

From a Bourdieu perspective, firms with strong AI capabilities accumulate algorithmic capital, allowing them to influence consumer visibility and choice architecture. This reshapes power in the marketplace: companies that control algorithmic ranking have disproportionate influence over what consumers see.

4.3 Sustainability, Values, and Ethical Consumption

Sustainability has become a major influence on consumer behavior. Many consumers prefer brands that demonstrate:

environmental responsibility
fair labor practices
reduced waste and carbon footprint
genuine purpose and social commitment

Marketing has responded by adopting:

eco-labels
sustainable packaging narratives
cause-related campaigns
purpose-driven brand positioning

While this trend is promising, the risk of “greenwashing” remains high. Consumers increasingly look for evidence, not slogans. Trust becomes central: if sustainability claims seem exaggerated or inconsistent with a company’s operations, consumers may react negatively.

From Bourdieu’s viewpoint, sustainable consumption can be a form of symbolic capital—signaling moral awareness, cultural sophistication, and social responsibility. But not all consumers have the economic capacity to participate, which creates potential inequalities.

4.4 Integrating Bourdieu, World-Systems Theory, and Institutional Isomorphism

Across digital marketing, AI personalization, and sustainability branding, these theories reveal deeper structures:

Bourdieu shows how consumption expresses identity, class, and taste through symbolic capital and habitus.
World-systems theory explains how global digital infrastructures centralize power in core countries, affecting marketing worldwide.
Institutional isomorphism explains why firms adopt similar technologies and discourses, even when their capabilities differ.

Together, these theories reveal that marketing is not only about persuasion but also about power—symbolic, economic, and institutional.

5. Findings

Marketing and consumer behavior shape each otherDigital platforms create environments where consumer actions are tracked and influence future marketing decisions, creating feedback loops.
Social media intensifies symbolic competitionInfluencer marketing transforms consumption into public identity performance.
AI-driven personalization increases convenience but raises ethical issuesWhile many consumers appreciate relevance, concerns about fairness, bias, and privacy remain high.
Sustainability influences purchase intentions, but credibility is keyBrands must align sustainability messages with real action to maintain trust.
Global digital power structures shape marketing possibilitiesDependence on global platforms affects local marketing autonomy.
Institutional isomorphism drives similarity in marketing language and toolsMany firms adopt the same ethical and technological rhetoric.
Future marketing success will depend on ethical, transparent, and human-centered practicesTrust becomes a central strategic asset.

6. Conclusion and Implications

6.1 Conclusion

Marketing and consumer behavior have evolved into an interconnected system influenced by digital technologies, shifting cultural values, and global economic structures. Using Bourdieu, world-systems theory, and institutional isomorphism, we see that consumption is not simply personal preference but socially structured, globally shaped, and institutionally constrained.

The coming years demand a new form of marketing—one that balances data-driven efficiency with ethical responsibility, cultural sensitivity, environmental sustainability, and respect for consumer autonomy.

6.2 Implications for Marketers

Build long-term trust, not short-term clicks
Practice transparent data governance
Audit AI systems for fairness
Align sustainability messages with real action
Understand cultural diversity in consumer habitus
Integrate ethics into marketing teams

6.3 Implications for Policymakers

Strengthen consumer data rights
Regulate profiling and automated decisions
Promote transparency from digital platforms
Support digital literacy programs
Encourage international cooperation

6.4 Implications for Researchers

Explore personalization across cultures
Examine digital habitus in emerging generations
Investigate sustainability’s long-term behavioral effects
Study resistance to institutional isomorphism

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