Consumer resistance by ordinary people: the experience of the Italian Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (Solidal Buying Groups)

Consumer resistance is a subject which has not received a great deal of attention in the marketing literature. Various forms of consumer resistance practices are however observable in many countries. They vary in many respects, but may all be regarded as forms of behaviour that are essentially unconventional. Interestingly enough, in recent years Italy has been the cradle of a particular type of consumer resistance, in the form of the “Solidal Buying Groups” (SBG). Their main idea is to organize collective purchasing of consumer goods, based on the key principles of fairness and solidarity. This paper aims to present this experience on the basis of an empirical study carried out in 2005. The key point is that SBGs represent a unique form of consumer resistance through the behaviour of ordinary people, and a clear example of the “gift economy” in practice.