The Consumer Revolution refers to a transformation in the economy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which had a profound impact on how people lived. It is an example of a "virtuous cycle" in which increasing consumption stimulates production, which in turn creates economies of scale that reduce costs and stimulate consumption. Part of the virtuous cycle is that production of consumer goods requires workers, and the more workers that are hired by manufacturers, the more people have the money to buy the goods that are being manufactured.

One of the major causes of the Consumer Revolution was the rise of the middle classes. Rather than the market consisting of a small number of wealthy families who bought luxury goods, there was now a larger market for relatively inexpensive items such as books, teapots, clothing, and other household goods. Some of these were items that were small luxuries for the middle classes that could show that they had "arrived," but others were functional. Books were read aloud in family gatherings and shared and exchanged with friends, serving not only as entertainment, but as religious and practical instruction.

Another cause of the Consumer Revolution was technological innovation, allowing goods to be produced less expensively and in higher volumes, making them more widely available. More efficient transportation meant that goods could reach customers more easily.

Increasing urbanization meant that rather than investing in land and agriculture, the new middle classes would buy small, portable manufactured household goods as indicators of status or to improve their lives, such as buying clothing rather than spending hours making it.