Careers in Consumer Goods > Overview

What is Consumer Goods?

In economics final goods are goods that are ultimately consumed rather than used in the production of another good. For example, a car sold to a consumer is a final good; the components such as tires sold to the car manufacturer are not; they are intermediate goods used to make the final good.

When used in measures of national income and output the term final goods only includes new goods. For instance, the GDP excludes items counted in an earlier year to prevent double counting of production based on resales of the same item second and third hand.

Consumer goods are final goods specifically intended for the mass market. For instance, consumer goods do not include investment assets, like precious antiques, even though these items are final goods.