Materialism and Social Consumption

TLDR

Materialism is a psychological motivator that shapes consumer behavior. The study investigates social consumption motivation as a broader driver than status and tests four hypotheses linking materialism to this motivation, opinion leadership, shopping time, and spending. The authors surveyed 204 adults and evaluated the four hypotheses connecting materialism to social consumption motivation, opinion leadership, shopping time, and spending. Materialism was positively associated with social consumption motivation, moderate opinion leadership, and predicted greater shopping time and spending, indicating that materialists are attuned to the social acceptability and communicative value of products and brands.

Abstract

The present study examines a psychological motivator and some behaviors of the materialist. In this study, we examine a motivator that is broader than status—social consumption motivation. Four hypotheses are proposed that link materialism to social consumption motivation, opinion leadership, time spent shopping, and spending. Data were gathered from 204 adults. The analysis showed that materialism correlated significantly with social consumption motivation and a mid-range level of opinion leadership, and was a significant and important predictor of time spent shopping and spending. Results suggest that materialists are sensitive to the social acceptability and communicative ability of products and brands.