The Value of Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports is a non-profit company that dedicates their time and resources to testing a wide variety of products. Their goal is to provide consumers with unbiased information they can use to make smart purchases. Despite their usefulness to consumers, here are some of the other ways they prove useful.

Non-Profit
Since 1936, Consumer Reports has been helping consumers navigate the plethora of products on the market. Consumerreports.com states, “As a nonprofit organization, Consumer Reports works to be as open as possible in its financial disclosures and operations and in maintaining its independence and integrity. In February 1936, the state of New York granted a charter to Consumers Union, the organization that would publish Consumer Reports, with the goal to provide consumers with “information and counsel on…goods and services” and to “maintain laboratories…to supervise and conduct research and tests.” Our policies and financial statements attest to CR’s continuing dedication to those founding principles more than 80 years later.”

Innovative
Consumer Reports has to be innovative. There are an incredible amount of competitors found in any website where people can post online reviews. Because of this competition, Consumer Reports has to be incredibly creative in order to stand out. Their website mentions, “In today’s rapidly evolving world, what we do at Consumer Reports must be as transformative and groundbreaking as the new technologies, products and services entering people’s lives every day.” CR uses state of the art equipment, some of which they have designed and created themselves. As they complete tests to simulate real life experiences of consumers, it is said that “Sometimes our test methods become part of an industry’s standards. And sometimes individual companies will work to improve their own competitive advantage by meeting our testing standards for everyday-use cases in their own quality assurance departments.”

Furthering Research
Consumer Reports is also dedicated to advancing research. They have partnered with a few organizations in order to make their impact as effective as possible. Additionally, their website states, “Consumer Reports is a member of the Consumer Federation of America, an association of nonprofit consumer organizations established in 1968 to advance consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education. CR is also a member of International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT), a consortium of international consumer organizations established in 1990. ICRT uses methodologies and results from a broad range of international labs, including Consumer Reports (such as for computer printers), to provide other consumer-focused organizations in more than 30 countries with insights for product recommendations and reviews. Through standardization and data sharing, ICRT estimates that it saves member organizations between 60 and 90 percent for some tests, while enabling more consumers around the world to have the same quality of test results published in local magazines and digital content.” This international service is an amazing contribution to consumers all over the world.

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