01:19 Nov 15, 2009 

... at what they mean here is that the "new" consumer is "volatile" (fickle/changeable) in the sense of no longer having old-style loyalty to a particular, brand, store etc. but is liable to "radicalise" their choices in the sense of making strong and generalised commitments to, eg. natural or organic fibres, fair-trade products etc. I agree with Chris that the English "radicalise" has the same meaning (and vaguesness) as the French "radicaliser" - suggesting both a "radical" (wholesale, maybe sudden) change that possibly involves "radical" principles, and so may as well do here, given we can't be 100% sure of what they mean.