Think Before You Buy: the new consumption

Conspicuous Consumption. The term coined by Thorstein Veblen in 1899 in the legendary 'Theory of the Leisure Class' (oft-quoted by marketeers and MBAs); to define the waste of money and/or resources by people, in order to display a higher status than others. As true today as it has ever been....Or is it?

The Future Laboratory believe we are seeing something of a paradigm shift in the way that we think about what we buy, our purchase motivations, and that conspicious consumption is no longer a signal of success, and is being replaced. Although this is not a brand new idea, as over a year ago Kit Yarrow (consumer psychologist and professor at Golden Gate University in the US) was talking about a new era of 'Considered Consumption'; I think the signs suggest that this isn't simply a knee-jerk reaction to the recession, but a real change in how we buy- thinking much more deeply about our purchases, and why we are making them.

But of course it did all start with the recession. It brought us down to Earth with a bump, from the heady  Boom Years, with over-priced houses, handbags, and  so on. We use the things we buy, our belongings, to visually communicate to others our tastes, values etc. And suddenly it is positively vulgar to boast and showcase our purchases, to 'conspicuously' consume designer shoes, when so many face pay cuts, job losses, repossessions; so we use our possessions and purchases to communicate something different.

A new era of 'Considered Consumption'. or even a 'conspicious abstention' has dawned. It means people want and probably need, to think more about their purchases, and the value of them.  There's less ostentation. We're still spending money- but more carefully, we want more bang for our buck, and that's the new chic- sense, not ostentation.
I think this is borne out by the recent Retail Week report that the premium market is set to take over from value as the biggest battleground for retailers. As the value sector matures, and gets hit with rising cost base, crowded market, and importantly- a shift in customers' minds away from cheap disposible goods, the opportunities present themselves in the premium sector. Value for money, quality and service is how these retailers will succeed, and for me, this is exactly what considered consumption is all about. We're still shopping, but we're spending less and wanting more for it. We want value, we want design, we want finish, we want durability, we want a customer experience and service to tell our friends about (quietly!)

But in some ways it goes even further than this- a Nu Austerity as The Future Laboratory are calling it, a philosophy that is growing in influence in Europe and the US- that's about more life, less stuff. Fair Trade, Vintage, Make Do and Mend, there are myriad examples- and it's all about being more socially/civically aware and reponsible in our consumption practises. "a return to basic values, materials and a way of life that is all about sustainability and conspicuous abstention".

Ring a bell? I guess Mad Men fashion isn't the only thing we have the 1950s to thank for.