Urban-rural comparison in terms of consumption rationality: Example of Bartın province

By the meaning of the consumption concept changes over time and as a result of the products being consumed outside of the intended use, consumers have moved away from rationality and they have started to devote to irrational consumption under the influence on various personal, environmental and psychological factors while giving consumption decisions. This study is conducted to show how people consume to the extent of their needs. In the study, the consumption situation was evaluated and the factors affecting the purchasing decisions of the consumers, the economic models explaining the purchasing behaviors and the development of consumption in the historical process are mentioned. Lastly, the stages of purchasing behavior of rational and irrational consumers have been examined. In the thesis, a questionnaire was conducted to investigate which group was more rational and the results obtained from the questionnaire survey of 384 people living in the city center and villages of Bartın Province were analyzed by SPSS program. When the analysis results were evaluated, it was observed that the consumers living in the city center and the villagers were affected by various factors and behaved differently in consumption decisions. Especially, the consumers living in the city center are more inclined to shopping and they give more importance to fashion and brand. On the other side, the consumers living in the villages are generally behave more rational, and they are not inclined to shopping out of their necessities. Keywords: Consumption, Rational Consumption, Irrational Consumption