Is there InConspicuous Consumption? (Part 2)

This is a follow up on yesterday's post. Here are links to some research on this concept:

The Rise of Inconspicuous Consumption by Giana Eckhardt, Jonathan AJ Wilson & Russell Belk. 

"Abstract 

Inconspicuous consumption – where brand signals are not readily apparent, available or visible to most consumers – is on the rise, even in Asia, which has typically favored conspicuous brands. This appears to be an oxymoron which challenges conventional branding theory; we argue it is redefining constructs such as luxury and class."

Inconspicuous Consumption and the Rise of the Aspirational Class. By Elizabeth Currid-Halkett. Excerpt:

"This new elite cements its status through prizing knowledge and building cultural capital, not to mention the spending habits that go with it — preferring to spend on services, education, and human-capital investments over purely material goods. These new status behaviors are what I call “inconspicuous consumption.” None of the consumer choices that the term covers are inherently obvious or ostensibly material but they are, without question, exclusionary." 

Inconspicuous Consumption: A new theory of the leisure class by Virginia Postrel. 

Subtle signals of inconspicuous consumption by Berger, J., & Ward, M.

"Abstract

While theories of signaling and conspicuous consumption suggest that more explicit markers facilitate communication, this article examines the utility of subtle signals. Four studies demonstrate that while less explicit branding increases the likelihood of misidentification (e.g., observers confusing a high-end purchase for a cheaper alternative), people with more cultural capital in a particular domain prefer subtle signals because they provide differentiation from the mainstream. Such insiders have the necessary connoisseurship to decode the meaning of subtle signals that facilitate communication with others “in the know.” Consistent with the notion that these effects are driven by outward communication, they are stronger in identity-relevant product domains and situations where consumption is more public. This work highlights the communication value of less explicit signals and discusses the implications for branding, signal persistence, and the communication of identity." 

Inconspicuous Consumption: Work-Rich, Time-Poor in the Liberal Market Economy by Oriel Sullivan and Jonathan Gershuny. 

"Abstract

Addressing the relationship between consumption behaviour, leisure time and the market, we seek a solution to the problem of the maintenance of consumption expenditure in economies where leisure time is shortest for those who have the most to spend, a contradiction particularly characteristic of societies belonging to the politico-economic regime type identified as ‘liberal market’. In contrast to ideas of conspicuous consumption based on display, we present a concept of ‘inconspicuous consumption’ relating to an imagined future use of purchases already made. Expensive leisure goods that symbolize a wished-for self-identity or lifestyle are purchased by high-income earners with little leisure time. From the point of view of the production sector, the purpose is achieved and a sale is made. However, the purchased goods remain ‘in storage’at home as symbols of a potential but unrealized and, in the meantime, unrealizable future. We illustrate different modalities of the practices of inconspicuous consumption and distinguish it from other consumption practices."

The Shift from Conspicuous to Inconspicuous Consumption and the Messages Hidden in Plain Sight by Jaclyn L Tanenbaum.

"Abstract

With the growing fragmentation of the luxury consumer market, the increasing mix of conspicuous and inconspicuous products offered by luxury brands, and the overlapping motivations for (in)conspicuous consumption behavior in the marketing literature, this research investigates under which circumstances a luxury consumer will choose to engage in either conspicuous or inconspicuous consumption. Three cross-sectional studies with experimental designs are conducted to test the proposed Triple C Model of (In)Conspicuous Consumption and determine if the proposed model can be used to predict, and ultimately change, consumption behavior among certain luxury consumers. The proposed model purports that construal level, sender cultural capital (e.g., the knowledge to know the difference between seemingly plain and inconspicuously branded luxury products), and the sender’s perception of their audience’s cultural capital are the underlying mechanisms that influence the choice to engage in either conspicuous or inconspicuous consumption. Results reveal that the level in which luxury consumers construe luxury products was inversely related to the amount of cultural capital they maintain for luxury products. Lower (more concrete) construal level luxury consumers had more cultural capital than higher (more abstract) luxury consumers. Results also revealed the effect of cultural capital on whether to engage in either conspicuous or inconspicuous consumption was moderated by the sender’s perception of their audience’s cultural capital. Higher cultural capital luxury consumers were more likely to engage in inconspicuous consumption when they perceived their audience also to have a higher amount of cultural capital, but were more likely to engage in conspicuous consumption when they perceived their audience to have a lower amount of cultural capital. This effect was attenuated among lower cultural capital luxury consumers, as they were more likely to engage in conspicuous consumption regardless of their perceptions of their audience. Finally, this research used the Triple C Model of (In)Conspicuous Consumption to target initially higher (more abstract) construal level luxury consumers who had lower cultural capital to change their consumption behavior to engage in inconspicuous consumption over conspicuous consumption under certain circumstances."