Wither vulnerable consumers? Meaningful dialogue about marketplace vulnerability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative perspective to the article on consumer vulnerability recently published in this journal by Russell-Bennett et al. (2024).

Design/methodology/approach – The approach is collegial but firm in its analysis of their discussion about how vulnerable consumers feel and react, as offered without appropriate review and details from previous research.

Findings – The perspective given by the authors is found to lack sufficient substance and foundation in the consumer vulnerability literature across several leading journals in the field. Alternative interpretations are presented and articulated.

Originality/value – All ideas expressed as a counter to their arguments come from decades of experiences working with vulnerable peoples across multiple contexts and communities.