Consumers' co-operative

A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit. Many co-operatives, however, do have a degree of profit orientation. Just like other corporations, some co-operatives issue dividends to owners based on a share of total net profit or earnings (all owners typically receive the same amount); or based on a percentage of the total amount of purchases made by the owner. Regardless of whether they issue a dividend or not, most consumers' co-operatives will offer owners discounts and preferential access to goods and services.

Consumers' co-operatives often take the form of retail outlets owned and operated by their consumers, such as food co-ops. However, there are many types of consumers' co-operatives, operating in areas such as health care, insurance, housing, utilities and personal finance (including credit unions).

In some countries, consumers' co-operatives are known as co-operative retail societies or retail co-ops, though they should not be confused with retailers' co-operatives, whose members are retailers rather than consumers.

Consumers' co-operatives may, in turn, form co-operative federations. These may come in the form of co-operative wholesale societies, through which consumers' co-operatives collectively purchase goods at wholesale prices and, in some cases, own factories. Alternatively, they may be members of co-operative unions.

Consumer co-operation has been a focus of study in the field of co-operative economics.