BRIDGING THE GAP: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CONSUMPTION AWARENESS AND PURCHASE BEHAVIOR IN THE DIGITAL AGE

As digital technologies exponentially reshape the global retail landscape, consumer behavior patterns have undergone fundamental shifts. Despite a significant rise in public awareness regarding sustainability, data privacy, and ethical consumption, actual purchasing behavior continues to exhibit a profound “Awareness Paradox” or “Say-Do Gap.” This systematic review integrates perspectives from psychology, marketing, neuroscience, and data science to dissect this phenomenon. By synthesizing existing literature and empirical data from 2024-2025, this report constructs a multi-layered analytical framework encompassing environmental, ethical, and digital dimensions. The study reveals that while consumers demonstrate a high cognitive preference for sustainable and ethical products, this awareness is frequently suppressed in digital environments by sophisticated algorithmic recommendations, scarcity cues in social commerce, and psychological triggers like Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). This report emphasizes the application of the “Stimulus-Organism-Response” (S-O-R) model, elucidating how digital stimuli bypass rational decision-making processes to induce impulsive buying. Furthermore, the report explores the double-edged sword of “Algorithmic Awareness” and the critical role of Neuromarketing technologies (e.g., eye-tracking, EEG, fMRI) in uncovering subconscious consumer reactions. Finally, the study proposes strategic recommendations aimed at optimizing Digital Choice Architecture to bridge the gap between awareness and behavior, fostering responsible consumption patterns.