Look. Words matter. There's overlap in the notion of doing research and gaining insight but the word "Consumers" has a connotation that I find distasteful. Makes me think of pigs at a trough eating slop. But "Users" isn't much better on the design side of the fence. We're all trying to understand how people feel about and understand the things we're trying to make for them. Empathy is word we use because we're trying to be human-centered and to as great a degree as possible, deeply understand how people feel. Hope that's helpful.