The effect of materialism on conspicuous vs inconspicuous luxury consumption: focused on need for uniqueness, self-monitoring and self-construal

Abstract

PurposePrevious research on luxury consumption has focused on conspicuous consumption; however, research on consumers' self-conceptual mechanism in inconspicuous luxury consumption context is scarce. The present study aims to investigate various self-concepts and their mechanisms for inconspicuous and conspicuous luxury consumption.Design/methodology/approachAn experiment with 215 participants from online survey website was conducted, and the hypotheses were tested using PROCESS Macro 3.4.FindingsThe study findings are as follows. Materialistic consumers' preference between inconspicuous and conspicuous luxury products is dependent on distinctive self-conceptual mechanism. More specifically, materialistic consumers with independent self-construal prefer inconspicuous luxury brands because of high need for uniqueness, whereas non-materialistic consumers with interdependent self-construal prefer conspicuous luxury products because of high self-monitoring.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study uniquely shows conditions (moderated mediation) that the link between need for uniqueness (self-monitoring) and luxury consumption is stronger for those with independent (interdependent) self-construal than for those with interdependent (independent) self-construal. The present results extend and help better understanding of mechanisms and conditions of conspicuous and inconspicuous luxury consumption.Practical implicationsMarketers are advised to design and produce unique vs popular luxury brands depending on consumer's motives and different self-concepts.Originality/valueThis research contributes to extant literature by distinguishing between conspicuous and inconspicuous luxury consumption with two different mechanisms (need for uniqueness and self-monitoring). The present study further demonstrates that the two mechanisms are strongly sustained differently depending on consumer's levels of self-construal.

The effect of materialism and impression management purchase motivation on purchase intention for luxury athleisure products: the moderating effect of sustainability

“…This study has the following academic implications. First, it contributes to a broader academic understanding by empirically verifying the results of previous studies that showed a positive correlation between materialism and sustainable consumption (Fitzmaurice, 2008; Lee et al , 2020; Sun et al , 2017) in the context of purchasing luxury athleisure products. Previous studies have consistently shown that materialism increases consumption of general luxury products, but results with regard to the relationship between materialism and sustainable consumption have been inconsistent.…”

The COVID‐19 threat and luxury advertising

“…Consumers who perceive that they are atypical will also feel that they are unique (Amatulli et al, 2021). They will be motivated to consume luxury products as a way to preserve their uniqueness (Lee et al, 2020). Consequently, advertising campaigns for luxury fashion brands such as Hermes, Versace, and Dior often use atypical images that appeal to consumers who value uniqueness.…”

Understanding of consumers’ inconspicuous luxury consumption practices in Vietnam: an exploratory study from an ethical perspective

“…Further studies have examined several factors driving inconspicuous luxury consumption, such as personal factors (Jiang et al , 2021a; Lee et al , 2020) and psychological factors (Kauppinen-Räisänen et al , 2018). Past research also suggests the impact of external factors (such as cultural, legal and environmental) on the shift from conspicuous to inconspicuous consumption (Eckhardt et al , 2015).…”