What is the need for consumer awareness ?
It is in a consumer’s best interest to have a high awareness of the products he/she buys. Higher awareness can lead to saving money and/or improving the quality of the goods purchased, or in economic terms, increasing the chances of being on a higher (better) indifference curve. If we look at the opposite scenario, a poorly-informed consumer will spend more money on products that provide less utility to the consumer, and there can be a loss, either private or social. Naturally, awareness is not “free” in the economic sense: it requires time and energy, two valuable commodities to a consumer, to be informed. The idea is, however, that the marginal benefits of being informed and having good consumer awareness tend to outweigh the marginal cost of being informed, so it is usually worth it. Hope that helps.
