Breaking the Mold: Consumer Choice beyond Standard Practices

Book review: Radaev V.V. (2025) Non-Standard Consumption, Moscow: HSE (in Russian).

Abstract

This review examines Non-Standard Consumption by Vadim Radaev, a book that analyzes consumer practices diverging from the rational behavioral ideal which is defined as stable, consistent, and economically advantageous conduct. The study employs quantitative methods, primarily utilizing data from a 2024 representative survey of 6,000 individuals. The article delineates five forms of  consumption identified by the author – panic, impulsive, compulsive, status-driven, and ethical  – while proposing additional categories subsumed under the operationalized concept of “non-standard consumption”. The theoretical and empirical frameworks for defining atypical consumer practices are critically evaluated, with particular emphasis on the fluid boundaries between normative and unconventional consumption patterns. The complexity of the phenomena under investigation is underscored, accompanied by an acknowledgment of inherent methodological constraints. Hypotheses explaining specific trends within the dataset are advanced, and the analysis concludes by advocating for an interdisciplinary approach to conceptualizing consumer behavior.