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Cultural influence on consumer behavior
Cultural influence on consumer behavior
Cultural influence on consumer behavior
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We are what we buy
We live in an era of constant change, where things evolve with a speed so high that we can hardly keep up with it. We are faced with a wide-range of choices in every field of our lives and we constantly have to educate ourselves in order to make the best decisions. Specifically in the field of shopping people encounter so many options that sometimes the reasons of a purchase can say as much about a person as ethnicity, religion or gender can. In order to consume we have to produce first, therefore Lowenthal`s statement is completely reasonable: “We called the heroes of the past “idols of production”: we feel entitled to call the present day heroes “idols of consumption” (Lowenthal, 1961: 115).
In the early 1940`s, “Critical Theory” stated clearly that there is a movement from production towards consumption. Lebow (1955) says that “our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in consumption”.
Featherstone(1991) states: “Consumption cannot be regarded as merely hedonistic, expressive and impulsive, however much this features in the advertising and lifestyle imagery”. “It clearly involves consumers in calculation, comparisons and research: in short, consumer culture involves knowledge” (Featherstone, 1991). People tend to pay attention to the ethical background of the production of goods they purchase, such as low payments, poor work conditions or exploiting underdeveloped countries. Featherstone(1991) also underlines that “consumption can no longer be seen as an innocent act, but as part of the chains of interdependencies and networks which bind ...
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...rtant things in human development. Education, social background, family history are what influence most the decision. People may have all the resorts necessary for purchasing whatever they want, but in the absence of those mentioned earlier they cannot make a subtle difference between the good and the bad, they cannot spot the vulgar or the “kitsch”.
In conclusion, “we are what we buy” is definitely a motto of the world we live in, but we should look at the depths of this phrase. Looking beyond the superficial, we buy what we choose and we choose based on many criteria so at the end we are what we choose. As Danielle Todd(2011) said: “this is what I am because I chose it”. “Consumption tends to be presented as a creative, symbolic force that plays a crucial role in shaping identity into what Anthony Giddens(1991) calls a “narrative of the self” (Gerda Reith, 2004).
In James Twitchell’s article, “What We Are to Consumers,” he states that “the object of much consumer
The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.
Ewen, S. (2001). Consumption and Seduction. In Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and The Social Roots of the Consumer Culture. (pp. 177-184). New York, NY: Basic Books.
People are often deceived by some famous brands, which they will buy as useless commodities to feel they are distinctive. People require brands to experience the feeling of being special. People spend their money to have something from famous brands, like a bag from Coach or Louis Vuitton which they think they need, yet all that is just people’s wants. Steve McKevitt claims that people give more thought on features or brands when they need to buy a product, “It might even be the case that you do need a phone to carry out your work and a car to get around in, but what brand it is and, to a large extent, what features it has are really just want” (McKevitt, 145), which that means people care about brands more than their needs. Having shoes from Louis Vuitton or shoes that cost $30 it is designed for the same use.
There is a distinct normative dimension to the concept of the new means of consumption, which is evident in the author's insistence that they "constrain" individuals "to buy more than they need" and "to spend more than they should" (119).
There are many people who are driven by consumerism and many people who wish they can get in touch with that type of world. Consumers are often promoted to advertise more of the products that they are buying to get more people to buy more products. Hari Kunzru, author of “Raj, Bohemian,” creates a narrator who is obsessed with maintaining his individuality and free will in a world that is overcome with consumerism. Believes that the world takes away individuality when consumerism comes into play and how hard it is to maintain their true self. In her LA Times article “Teen Haulers Create a Fashion Force,” Andrea Chang writes about the phenomenon of teenage Youtube users who make videos that publicize their latest shopping binges. She expresses
Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Hetherington K, and Harvard C.(eds) (2014, pg.126,142). He further claims, “This is the characteristic pattern of inequality in our contemporary consumer society one that contrasts with the lines of class and occupational status that characterised the major cleavages in Industrial society”. Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Alan, J. (2014 pg. 275). Moreover, consumerism encourages people to consume creating their own identities, replacing Identities centred on production and work. Furthermore, Hayek in the ‘Ordering Lives Strand’ claims “The market should be free of political intervention allowing individuals to be free to pursue their own interests” Hayek, F.A. (1976). cited in Clarke, J. (2014 pg.380). However, Allen. claims “The ability to ‘buy into’ a particular lifestyle actively excludes others from it on the basis of lack of income and those unable to do so will be seen as unworthy or inadequate” (Allen, J. 2014 P. 278). Thus constraints can be seen placed on people through lack of income, turning differences into inequalities with evidence indicating that ‘People’s values, beliefs and status are now shaped by ‘Consuming’ rather than as in Industrial times by work, politics and religion’, (The Open University, 2016). Therefore, differences which turn into inequalities are as predominant in today’s consumer society as they were in our industrial
In 1899 Thorstein Veblen wrote The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions. In this work, Veblen presented critical thinking that pertains to people’s habits and their related social norms. He explores the way certain people disregard the divisions that exist within the social system, while subsequently emulating certain aspects of the leisure class in an effort to present an image of higher social status. He also presented the theory of conspicuous consumption, which refers to an instance when a person can fulfill their needs by purchasing a product at a lower cost that is equal in quality and function to its more expensive counterpart; however, said person chooses to buy the more expensive product, by doing so, they are attempting to present an image of a higher social status. The almost 110 year cycle between 1899 and 2010 reveals few differences in buying behaviors, other than the differing selection of luxury goods to indulge, or over-indulge in.
At first, the narrator conforms to the uneventful and dull capitalist society. He fines success in his work at an automobile manufacture, has obtained a large portion of his Ikea catalog, and has an expansive wardrobe. He is defined by his possessions and has no identity outside his furniture, which he remarks, “I wasn’t the only slave of my nesting instincts” (Palahniuk, 43) and “I am stupid, and all I do is want and need things.” (Palahniuk, 146) For the narrator, there is no fine line between the consumer [narrator] and the product. His life at the moment is a cycle of earning a wage, purchasing products, and representing himself through his purchases. “When objects and persons exist as equivalent to the same system, one loses the idea of other, and with it, any conception of self or privacy.” (Article, 2) The narrator loses sight of his own identity; he has all these material goods, but lacks the qu...
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu was one of the earliest theorists to examine the question of symbolic consumption, outlining in particular the ways in which consumption, s an everyday practice, is implicated in ideology and capitalist hierarchies. (Lewis, J, 2008. P220)
Many theorists suggest that consumption is correlated to the identity of an individual, that by purchasing goods from the mass market, it enables us to visibly establish our position within society. This differs from previous times in which a range of factors such as family histories, character and personal achievements played a significant role (Gabriel and Lang, 2006). Instead, there is the idea that the consumer has the ability to gain pleasure over objects, not just solely by the manipulation of objects, but through the degree of control over their meaning. The degree of control is developed and achieved through imagination and provides greater possibilities of pleasure experiences. This suggests that modern consumption can be seen as device that enables individuals to ‘dream’ about the desires they wish to fulfill. (Campbell, 1989: 79) (Cited in Gabirel & Lang, 2006)
...s’ rather than ‘consumers’. We should consume on our own terms and thus learn to define our own desires instead of merely accepting the choice that the market offers us.
Mooij, M.de. (2004). Consumer Behavior and Culture, Sage Publications, Page 102, Page 119, Page 274, Page 275
In many high schools, if you don’t have an iPod or any other cool device, a replacement automotive or lots of cash, then the cool crowd typically doesn’t even notice a person. In nearly every organization, cash and things are the entire foundation, thus it is sensible that Americans would be thus materialistic. Of every last one of ideas inside economic concerns, supply and interest is maybe the most well-known by the overall population. Individuals' assets are constrained, yet everyone's needs and needs are boundless. “We shop to assert our superiority to the material objects that spread themselves before us,” (Rose 482).
Individuals also learn to adopt materialistic values through social learning from family members, peers, and the materialistic messages that they are frequently bombarded with in television programs advertisements (Kasser et al., 2004). The materialistic lifestyle, According to Kasser (2002), is a process of acquiring material goods beyond the necessities to meet human needs. It is of high importance to the individuals to attain financial success, impressive possessions, an attractive image, and a replicable status. Materialistic people tend to use money as a mean of self-enhancement (Kasser et al, 2004). Similarly, Belk (1985) explains materialism as the importance a consumer places on the acquisition and ownership of possessions (Belk 1985) and the view that there is a ris...