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Symbolic consumption occurs when a consumer purchases or uses a product as a result of emotional driving factors as opposed to functional driving factors.

The term is used to describe the phenomenon whereby people consume to reflect their sense of self identity. A common example is clothing from premium brands - people consume these products not because of their high quality or the material that they are made from but for the effect the items have on the individuals public self image (See the Johari Window - http://seerhearttarotreadings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/johari-window.jpg).

This concept is strongly linked to the theory of processions. For more information see Belk's 1988 paper on the Extended Self.

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13y ago

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