A consumer is a person or group who intends to order, purchase, or use goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household, and similar needs, who is not directly related. In simpler terms, a consumer is someone who buys and uses a product or service. The term "consumer" is often used interchangeably with "customer," but they are not entirely accurate. A customer is a person or organization that purchases goods or services, but they may or may not consume them.

Consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a capitalist system and form a fundamental part of any economy. They buy goods or services primarily for consumption and not for resale or for commercial purposes. Consumers pay some amount of money (or equivalent) for goods or services, then consume (use up) them.

The law primarily uses a notion of the consumer in relation to consumer protection laws, and the definition of consumer is often restricted to living persons (not corporations or businesses) and excludes commercial users. A typical legal rationale for protecting the consumer is based on the notion of policing market failures and inefficiencies, such as inequalities of bargaining power between a consumer and a business.

In summary, a consumer is a person or group who buys and uses a product or service primarily for personal, social, family, household, and similar needs. They play a vital role in the economy and are protected by consumer protection laws.