Part of me thinks there may be, but the way you sometimes see them used interchangeably also makes me think that consumer has taken on much of the same meaning as customer. Maybe depends on from which context you’re speaking, i.e. out/in business?

  • FuglyDuck
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    411 months ago

    Consumer is an entity that uses- “consumes”- products; as compared to an entity that produces products for consumers.

    Customer is much more specific- they’re more relative to the company in question; a farmer is a producer- they grow the food. Their customers are the people at the market (individuals, presumably , and these are consumers) and the grocery stores, even if those stores themselves aren’t the actual consumers. For that, their customers are the consumers,

    And the farmer is presumably a customer of a farm supply store (and the tractor people, and stuff,)