Consumerism has evolved as a consequence of the development of a consumer society and over time became a way of life. Its occurrence in the form of excessive consumption above real needs, which justified the intention of realizing the satisfaction and happiness of each individual, is nowadays increasingly discussed.This paper sought to understand the phenomenon of consumerism and to explore its impact on consumer behavior.Throughout the paper, it is explained the evolution of consumer society and consumer culture, described the role of marketing that is used in the development of consumerism, and analyzed the factors that have influence on consumers and who determine the consumer behavior in the buying and consumption decision making process. Empirical research was conducted using a survey method to examine consumer attitudes in order to investigate consumer habits.The main limitation of the survey relates to the number of respondents of 132 people, because in order to reach relevant conclusions, the survey should be investigated by a larger number of respondents throughout the Republic of Croatia. By examining consumers about their spending habits, it was explored the impact of consumerism and marketing activities that support him, on consumers decision making. From the collected data and the analysis of the results, it was concluded that although most consumers plan their consumption, over-exposure to marketing influence still often leads to unplanned spending. Consumers are strongly influenced by advertising, and they are often driven by impulsive buying, but despite that, most of respondents claim that they are not getting into debt for consumption.