Conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers: psychological and brand antecedents

Purpose – This paper sets out to address the issue of conspicuous consumption among middle age consumers (40-60), focusing on the psychological and brand antecedents, using the context of automobile buying behaviour. Existing literature does not clearly conceptualise psychological and brand antecedent and their effect on conspicuous consumption due to usage of inconsistent measurement techniques and being largely targeted at the youth segment. Design/methodology/approach – Two scales of measurement (psychological antecedent scale, brand antecedent scale) were employed to measure the impact. The study involved a quantitative research methodology employing a structured questionnaire and quota sampling with a total sample of 302 within the region of the South-East of the UK. Findings – The findings suggest that psychological and brand antecedents are of crucial importance among middle-aged consumers in influencing their conspicuous consumption. Practical implications – Using the examples of present communication strategies adopted by conspicuous product marketers, the paper argues how they are missing an opportunity and provides them with a novel way to market their brands, focusing on how consumers associate themselves with these brands. Originality/value – The paper is the first of its kind to explicitly investigate the impact of brand and psychological antecedents among middle-aged consumers – one of the most significant segments for conspicuous marketers, yet so far understudied.