Conspicuous consumption of luxury experiences: an experimental investigation of status perceptions on social media

Abstract

Purpose As luxury goods are losing their importance for demonstrating status, wealth or power to others, individuals are searching for alternative status symbols. Recently, individuals have increasingly used conspicuous consumption and displays of experiences on social media to obtain affirmation. This study aims to analyze the effects of luxury and nonluxury experiences, as well as traditional luxury goods on status- and nonstatus-related dimensions. Design/methodology/approach After presenting the theoretical foundation, the authors conduct a study with 599 participants to compare status perceptions elicited by the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods, luxury experiences and nonluxury experiences. The authors investigate whether experiences that are visibly consumed on Instagram are replacing traditional luxury goods as the most important status symbols. Furthermore, the authors examine the effects of the content shown on nonstatus-related dimensions and analyze whether status perceptions differ between female and male social media communicators. Finally, the authors analyze how personal characteristics (self-esteem, self-actualization and materialism) influence the status perceptions of others on social media. Findings The results show that luxury goods are still the most important means of displaying status. However, especially for women, luxury experiences are also associated with a high level of social status. Thus, the results imply important gender differences in the perceptions of status- and nonstatus-related dimensions. Furthermore, the findings indicate that, in particular, the individual characteristics of self-actualization and materialism affect status perceptions depending on the posted content. Originality/value While the research has already considered some alternative forms of conspicuous consumption, little attention has been given to experiences as status symbols. However, with their growing importance as substitutes for luxury goods and the rise of social media, the desire to conspicuously consume experiences is increasing. The authors address this gap in the literature by focusing on the conspicuous display of luxury and nonluxury experiences on social media.

Thirty years of product and brand management research: a retrospective review of the Journal of Product and Brand Management using bibliometric analysis

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The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors on e-WOM behaviour: The role of psychological impact during the time of COVID-19 crisis

“…Further, materialistic individuals display their status, wealth and uniqueness in order to impress others [ 26 ] by using products to disclose information about themselves [ 27 ]. Thus, materialism had an impact on the status perception of individuals on SNS [ 28 ]. Besides, recent research on trait materialism has also shown the influence on posting behaviour [ 29 ], e-WOM diffusion [ 30 ], and SNS intensity among users [ 31 ].…”

Kiel Journal of Consumer Studies 1

“…While social media consumption lacks the actual good to consume, Siepmann et. al (2021) found, that seeing an experience on Instagram was perceived as a means of status building and selfactualization comparable to the actual use of a good.…”

“…So, a large part of the research on the connection between conspicuous consumption and social media has focused on fitness. But many studies focus on differences between genders (e.g., Mujcic & Frijters, 2015;Siepmann, et al, 2021) or the progress of tribalization (Lamb & Hillman, 2015;Stollfuß, 2020). However, during the recent Covid-19pandemic, another important factor emerged: the location.…”