Abstract

Purpose Consumerism, understood as excessive consumption, poses a vital problem in the world, and requires taking appropriate steps and actions in individual countries depending on the extent and nature of this phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of consumerism in Poland, with partial reference to other EU countries and to answer the question whether there is consumerism as such in Poland. Design/methodology/approach Data from secondary sources were used for the purpose of the paper. The study is based on statistical data analysis (Eurostat, Polish Statistical Main Office) and surveys of national experts, institutions and research agencies. The time span of the data observed extended from 2010 to 2018. The applied method can be defined as a descriptive statistics method with elements of quantitative analysis. Findings The study shows that the phenomenon of consumerism in Poland is not yet developed to the extent comparable to Western European countries. With the basic needs of the majority of average Polish households consuming the major part of their income, combined with the necessity to rationalize spending, which is forced by social and economic situation, consumers are more inclined to reasonably manage their resources. Polish consumers are still trying to catch up and meet their needs at a level similar to that in highly developed countries. Nevertheless, one can observe some symptoms of consumerist behaviour, e.g. spending on pleasure and entertainment prevails over saving, buying unnecessary things, or pleasure shopping. Originality/value Until now, the subject of consumerism in Poland was tackled very rarely and in a fragmentary way. No answer was given to the question whether there is consumerism in Poland and what is the level of its advancement. This paper is an attempt to identify this phenomenon based on available secondary sources. In addition it has been shown that statistics indicating the fifth place of Poland in Europe in terms of food waste are 'best estimates' mainly based on 2006 data from Eurostat and unfortunately no data were available from Poland.

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