Dr Catherine Ngahu talks about Conspicuous consumption behavior and asks the question:
Is Luxury show off behavior becoming more acceptable ?
There are people who like to buy visible luxury items for public show of status or just for image or uniqueness. In these days of reality TV and social media, influencers and socialites, it’s become common to see people displaying their luxury goods, purchases and lifestyles for all to see as a way of demonstrating their style, or to enhance their image.
We have TV programs on the most luxurious birthdays of the year, million-dollar homes, billionaire living, luxury vacationing, celebrity lifestyles and the like plus all those rich kid shows housewives of wherever and bling-bling movies.
There are even shows focusing on the richest pastors in the world or in Africa, the luxury living of religious leaders, and so on. This has led to the proposition, that, we are living in an age, of increasing conspicuous consumption. What do you think?
It appears to have become more acceptable. In the past conspicuous consumption was generally frowned upon in society. This information is of great interest to consumer behavior researchers and marketers as it serves to guide strategic direction in terms of product development, packaging, pricing, promotion and distribution.
Conspicuous consumption is a behavior that relates to visible luxury buying. In the past the assumption was that this behavior was driven by the need to display economic power, or social status. But today its associated more with self-image and self-expression.
It’s seen as a way to obtain social confirmation, express uniqueness, and to stand out. Some people use it to distinguish themselves from others and project an image of high social status or as Kenyans would say to show that you are ‘loaded’.
Different perception of Public Display of Wealth (PDW) versus Public Display of Affection (PDA) in different countries. The growth of this type of consumer behavior of conspicuous consumption has created an opportunity for marketers to make product offerings in a hierarchical format that allows for a wide range of designs and prices for the same products like we see in phones, cars, and many other products.
This growth of conspicuous consumption behavior has led to the fast growth of huge luxury brands in many categories of goods and services. These include big hand bag brands, such Luxury car brands like Lamborgini, Ferrari, Bentley, Jaguar, Mercedes, Range Rover, BMW among others, definitely offer more than just transportation. While functional value is key, the prestige and status association can be seen in the marketing strategies of these vehicles.
Today, we have exclusive products and services of all kinds including watches, jewelry, perfumes, schools, and drinks. We even have exclusive water brands.

My question is: Are we living in an age where its more acceptable to show off your luxuries and lavish living? What do you think?

We all need to elevate our mindsets at this time!

​By Dr Catherine Ngahu
Elevatus!