Stratification

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Stratification
In modern times, understanding consumer behavior has become a critical factor for the business and corporations. For this reason, many manufacturing companies have invested heavily in both identifying and influencing consumer behavior of increased profit margins. There are several theoretical concepts explaining consumer behaviors, especially regarding luxury goods and perhaps due to their profitability. In this study, theoretical concepts by three theorists are used to understand the factors behind the consumption of luxury goods.
According to George Simmel, everything interacts with everything. This working assumption brings the ideas of conformity and deviation in a group or community settings. In this case, the prevalent traits of a group or the popular ideas it advocates for can determine members’ consumption behaviors since people take social roles that can play off the choices and actions of others.
Thorsten Veblen argued that people associate luxury goods with high social classes about wealth. For this reason, many people tend to buy expensive goods to achieve and maintain high social status instead of fulfilling their basic needs. Veblen called this behavior as conspicuous consumption. Such people have great influence to those who seek to emulate them, thus becomes agents or advocates of certain consumer behavior. The ultimate of this is a society that is characterized by wastage of both money and time.
In their study, Han, Joseph, and Xavier (32) found that conspicuous consumption is a distinguishing factor between the wealthy and poor people (haves and have-nots) as it signals the status of wealth.

Simmel would explain that the group that individuals associates with are responsible for the conspicuous spending. This is supported by the article on Bunny Mellon who seem to be attracted only to people of social status same as hers as supported by her wealthy family background (Trebay 7). Veblen would explain that people classify themselves higher in class to display their well-off status in society. This could be the reason Bunny Mellon feels that it helps when her friends or associates have “their own airport” (Trebay 9). It is logical to say that both Simmel and Veblen agrees that conspicuous consumptions classify consumers into different social ranks.Also, conspicuous consumption agrees with Johanna Sjoberg’s principles of consumer socialization that age is a critical factor in consumption. It is for this reason marketers use age to segment their market or design their products (Sparrman, Bengt, and Sjöberg 23). Therefore, proper design with visual advertising of luxury goods can have greater influence people of specific age groups.
In conclusion, conspicuous consumption has a certain impact on the society. It groups consumers into two classes of those who can and those who cannot afford luxury goods. The reason for conspicuous consumption is the need to display one’s high rank in the society and that of maintaining a certain class of associates and friends. In all ways, conspicuous consumption is destructive to societies as it widens the gap between the poor and the rich and leads to wastage of resources.
Works Cited
Han, Young J, Joseph C. Nunes, and Xavier Drèze. “Signaling Status with Luxury Goods: the Role of Brand Prominence.” Journal of Marketing. 74.4 (2010): 15-30. Print
Sparrman, Anna, Bengt Sandin, and Johanna Sjöberg. Situating Child Consumption: Rethinking Values and Notions of Children, Childhood and Consumption. , 2015. Internet resource.
Trebay, Guy. “The Last Empress.” Mwr.nytimes.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 23 Mar. 2018.