Journal of Consumer Marketing: Scopus Indexing, Metrics, Scope & Submission Guide

Journal Information at a Glance

What This Page Covers

• Aims, scope and subject fit
• Scopus and major indexing
• Current citation metrics
• Article types and length
• Formatting and submission
• Peer review and timelines
• Open access and fees
• Ethics and readiness checks

Methodology and Sources

This profile was prepared from the supplied Scopus-identifying information and the live Emerald Publishing journal page, including its aims and scope, author guidelines, editorial process, indexing and metrics sections. ISSN identity was cross-checked against the ISSN Portal. Where SJR and SNIP values are mentioned, they are clearly dated to 2024 and attributed to an institutional journal-metrics browser that reports Scopus metrics. Values not safely verifiable from a current authoritative display are labelled for rechecking rather than guessed.

What Is Journal of Consumer Marketing?

JCM sits at the intersection of consumer research and practical marketing management. Emerald describes the journal as being written by scholars and practitioners and edited for marketers seeking insight into consumer behaviour worldwide. This makes the journal relevant not only to academics testing consumer theories but also to studies that translate evidence into decisions about branding, communication, retail, digital experiences, sustainability, services and other market-facing questions.

Its stated emphasis on blending theory and practice is important for manuscript selection. A paper can be methodologically sound yet still be a weak fit if it does not explain why the consumer findings matter to marketing knowledge or managerial decisions. Conversely, a purely descriptive business case may need stronger conceptual framing to demonstrate a contribution suitable for scholarly publication.

Journal Aims and Scope

Emerald frames consumption as a major element of human behaviour and positions understanding consumer behaviour as fundamental to effective marketing strategy. JCM states that it publishes not only conventional research but also cases, new concepts and practices, and commentary reflecting informed opinion. The unifying feature is relevance to contemporary or emerging marketing issues and a meaningful connection between consumer research and practical challenges.

Because JCM is applied, authors should usually make managerial or practical implications specific rather than generic. An empirical result that “has implications for managers” is less persuasive than a clear explanation of which marketing decision the evidence informs, under what conditions, and with what limitations.

Potentially weaker fits may include papers where consumer behaviour is peripheral, manuscripts that are purely operational or financial without a consumer-marketing contribution, studies with little connection to marketing theory or practice, or work that falls outside the journal’s stated article categories. This is interpretive guidance rather than an official exclusion list.

Subjects and Research Themes

Recent topics highlighted on the Emerald journal page include AI chatbots and service quality, sustainable consumption, emotional appeals, electronic word of mouth, ethical consumer identity and social-image dynamics. These examples illustrate the journal’s interest in both established consumer-behaviour questions and newer marketing contexts.

• Consumer decision-making
• Branding and brand relationships
• Digital and social marketing
• Customer experience and services
• AI-enabled consumer interactions
• Sustainable consumption
• Ethical and responsible marketing
• Social influence and eWOM
• Retail and omnichannel behaviour
• Consumer psychology
• Marketing communications
• Cross-cultural consumer research

For researchers evaluating fit, the best test is not whether a keyword appears in a topic list. Compare your manuscript with several recently published JCM papers and ask whether the research question, theory, methods, contribution and implications would be intelligible and valuable to the journal’s readership.

Is Journal of Consumer Marketing Indexed in Scopus?

Yes. Emerald lists Scopus among the journal’s ranking/indexing resources, and the supplied record gives Scopus Source ID 22897. Emerald also displays a Scopus CiteScore for the title. The publisher lists additional abstracting and indexing services including Business Source, Emerging Sources Citation Index (Clarivate), INSPEC, OCLC and Zetoc, among others.

Indexing should still be checked at the time you need it for a university, doctoral or funding requirement. Institutions sometimes define acceptable journals by a particular database, category, year or quartile. “Indexed in Scopus” is not the same as “Q1 in every category,” and a journal’s category position can change over time.

Current Journal Metrics: CiteScore, Impact Factor, SJR, SNIP and Quartile

Emerald’s current journal page displays a 2025 CiteScore of 7.7 and a 2026 CiteScore Tracker of 8.2 at the time this guide was verified. The tracker is updated monthly, so it should not be confused with the final annual CiteScore. Emerald also displays a 2025 Journal Impact Factor of 3.3 and a 2025 five-year Impact Factor of 3.8.

For SJR and SNIP, an institutional University of Twente journal browser reports 2024 SJR 0.967 and 2024 SNIP 1.019 as Scopus journal metrics. Because these are prior-year figures and are not displayed on Emerald’s current page, authors should check the newest Scopus or SCImago record before citing them in formal evaluation documents.

What Types of Articles Does the Journal Publish?

During submission, Emerald asks authors to choose an article classification and category. The JCM guidelines list classification options such as Regular Paper, Case Study and Executive Summary, and category options including research paper, viewpoint, technical paper, conceptual paper, case study, literature review and general review.

This range supports varied scholarly contributions, but the manuscript still needs a clear fit with consumer marketing. A literature review, for example, should do more than summarize prior studies; it should organize, critique or synthesize a consumer-marketing literature in a way that advances understanding. A conceptual paper should develop a meaningful theoretical argument, while a case-focused contribution should connect the case to wider learning for the journal’s audience.

Manuscript and Formatting Requirements

Emerald’s current author guidelines state that articles should normally be 6,000–8,000 words, including all text, the structured abstract, references, text in tables and figures, and appendices. Authors are asked to allow 280 words for each figure or table. The primary manuscript should be supplied in Microsoft Word; a PDF may accompany it but is not accepted by itself. LaTeX can be used when accompanied by a PDF.

How to Submit a Paper

1. Read the current JCM aims and scope and compare the manuscript with recent papers.
2. Prepare the manuscript to Emerald’s length, abstract, keyword, referencing and anonymization requirements.
3. Confirm authorship order, affiliations, funding declarations, permissions and research-ethics information before upload.
4. Access the Journal of Consumer Marketing ScholarOne system through the official Emerald journal page.
5. The corresponding author should submit directly. Emerald states that submission must not be made by email or through a third-party agent or proxy.
6. Upload the manuscript and required supplementary files, complete metadata carefully, and retain the manuscript number for future correspondence.

If fit remains uncertain after reading the aims and scope, Emerald says authors can contact the editor with the paper title and structured abstract for suitability guidance.

Peer Review, Decision Process and Publication Timeline

Each submission is first screened by the journal’s editorial office. A manuscript can be declined or returned before external review if it does not comply with submission policies, is outside the aims and scope, or the language/manuscript quality is considered too low. Papers judged potentially suitable are sent to at least two independent referees under a double-anonymous peer-review model.

After reports are received, the editor may accept, request minor or major revisions, or decline the manuscript. Emerald notes a general goal of communicating a first decision within 60 days. The current JCM metrics panel separately reports an average 44 days to first decision for submissions between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 and 52 days from acceptance to publication for the stated previous-12-month period.

These are historical journal-level indicators, not guaranteed turnaround times. Review duration varies with manuscript quality, reviewer availability, revision cycles and editorial workload.

Open Access and Publication Fees

JCM is not presented as a fully open-access-only journal. Emerald offers authors two open-access routes across its journals: gold open access and green open access/self-archiving. If an author selects gold OA and the paper is accepted, an article processing charge is payable unless a relevant waiver, agreement or sponsored arrangement applies. Emerald indicates that the gold OA version uses a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence.

For green open access, Emerald states that the author accepted manuscript can be made openly available according to its current self-archiving policy, without the gold OA APC. Because APC prices and institutional agreements can change, this guide does not invent a fee amount; authors should confirm the live JCM APC price in Emerald’s current APC list or editorial system.

Research Ethics, Authorship, Originality and AI Use

Emerald states that it follows COPE guidance and requires original work, appropriate authorship, conflict-of-interest disclosure, necessary permissions, and ethical consideration for studies involving human participants. Manuscripts should not be simultaneously submitted elsewhere. The publisher may use Crossref Similarity Check to assess originality.

Its current AI policy is particularly important. Emerald says authors remain responsible for accuracy and integrity; AI use must be transparent and responsible; and large language models cannot be credited as authors. The publisher’s current guidance permits generative-AI-assisted copy-editing of an author’s own original text for structure, clarity, language and grammar under its stated principles, but says generative AI must not be used to create or draft new submission material. Authors should read the live policy because publisher rules on AI are evolving.

Is Journal of Consumer Marketing a Good Fit for Your Manuscript?

A “yes” to most of these questions does not ensure acceptance. It simply indicates that the manuscript may deserve a closer fit assessment before submission.

How to Prepare a Stronger, Journal-Aligned Manuscript

As a practical publication-readiness step, begin by reading a focused set of recent JCM papers around your topic and method. Note how authors frame consumer relevance, develop theoretical contributions, report methods, discuss managerial implications and acknowledge limitations. This is not a substitute for the official author guidelines; it is a way to understand the journal’s published standard.

Before submission, run a final quality check for internal consistency: the title should match the research question; the abstract should accurately reflect the study; the literature review should motivate the gap; hypotheses or propositions should follow logically; the method should enable replication or evaluation; results should answer the stated question; and the discussion should distinguish evidence from speculation.

How Contentxprtz Can Ethically Support Publication Readiness

Contentxprtz can help authors improve presentation and readiness while keeping scholarly responsibility with the author. Depending on the manuscript, support may include language editing, academic proofreading, structural feedback on clarity, journal-formatting checks, reference and citation formatting, structured-abstract polishing, cover-letter editing, reviewer-response editing, and a pre-submission readiness review.

Support should never cross into misrepresentation of authorship, fabrication of research, manipulation of citations, or claims that an editor can secure acceptance. Journal decisions belong to the journal’s editors and reviewers. Professional preparation may reduce avoidable presentation problems and help authors communicate their own research more clearly, but it cannot guarantee peer review, acceptance, publication, indexing outcomes or citation performance.

Authoritative Sources to Recheck Before Submission

• Emerald Publishing — Journal of Consumer Marketing
• Scopus source profile — Source ID 22897
• ISSN Portal — online record 2052-1200
• University of Twente journal browser — dated Scopus metrics