From hedonism to frugality: consumption desires in different age groups across 20 years
Search for other papers by Terhi-Anna Wilska in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Gintautas Silinskas in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Jussi Nyrhinen in
Current site
Google Scholar
This article examines different kinds of consumption desires of Finnish consumers by asking how they would change their consumption habits if they had more money at their disposal. As previous research on consumption desires has been mainly based on the essence of desires and the cycle of fulfilling hedonistic desires and creating new ones, this study analyses the desires in the context of the ages of both consumers and consumer society. The focus was differences in consumption desires between age groups and changes across 20 years. The data were derived from three repeated surveys collected in 1999, 2009 and 2019 in Finland (N = 5,459), which were analysed with principal-axis factor analysis and ANCOVA. The factor analysis extracted three types of consumption desires: hedonistic, charitable-cultural and materialistic. Saving-oriented desires were analysed as a single item. Hedonistic consumption desires were the most typical for the youngest age group (18–25), and materialistic desires were the highest for young adults aged 26–35 across all three years of measurement. Older people had the most charitably and culturally oriented desires in 1999, but older age groups’ orientation to saving and charitable giving and culture decreased across 20 years. Hedonistic consumption desires generally decreased over 20 years, particularly in young age groups. Conversely, young people’s desire to save increased significantly, whereas the oldest age groups saved less. The research shows that both changes in consumer values and economic circumstances are manifested in people’s consumption desires.
-
Achabou, M.A. and Dekhili, S. (2013) Luxury and sustainable development: is there a match?, Journal of Business Research, 66(10): 1896–903, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.02.011.
-
Ajzen, I. (1985) From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior, in J. Kuhl and J. Beckmann (eds) Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp 11–39.
-
Atkinson, A. and Hayes, D. (2010) Consumption Patterns among Older Consumers: Statistical Analysis, London: The International Longevity Centre - UK (ILC-UK), https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ConsumptionPatterns.pdf.
-
Autio, M. and Heinonen, V. (2004) To consume or not to consume? Young people’s environmentalism in the affluent Finnish society, YOUNG, 12(2): 137–53, doi: 10.1177/1103308804042104.
-
Bekkers, R. and Wiepking, P. (2011) Who gives? A literature review of predictors of charitable giving part one: religion, education, age and socialization, Voluntary Sector Review, 2(3): 337–65. doi: 10.1332/204080511X6087712
-
Belk, R.W. (1985) Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world, Journal of Consumer Research, 12(3): 265–81, doi: 10.1086/208515.
-
Belk, R.W., Ger, G. and Askegaard, S. (2003) The fire of desire: a multisited inquiry into consumer passion, Journal of Consumer Research, 30(3): 326–51, doi: 10.1086/378613.
-
Bloodhart, B. and Swim, J.K. (2020) Sustainability and consumption: what’s gender got to do with it?, Journal of Social Issues, 76(4): 101–13, doi: 10.1111/josi.12370.
-
Bock, D.E., Eastman, J.K. and Eastman, K.L. (2018) Encouraging consumer charitable behavior: the impact of charitable motivations, gratitude, and materialism, Journal of Business Ethics, 150(4): 1213–28, doi: 10.1007/s10551-016-3203-x.
-
Boujbel, L. and d’Astous, A. (2012) Voluntary simplicity and life satisfaction: Exploring the mediating role of consumption desires, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 11(6): 487–94, doi: 10.1002/cb.1399.
-
Boujbel, L. and d’Astous, A. (2015) Exploring the feelings and thoughts that accompany the experience of consumption desires, Psychology and Marketing, 32(2): 219–31, doi: 10.1002/mar.20774.
-
Bourdieu, P. (1984) Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, London: Routledge.
-
Brickman, P. and Campbell, D.T. (1971) Hedonic relativism and planning the good society, in M.H. Appley (ed) Adaptation Level Theory: A Symposium, New York: Academic Press, pp 287–302.
-
Campbell, C. (1987) The Romantic Ethics and the Spirit of Modern Consumerism, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
-
Casey, E. (2003) Gambling and consumption: working-class women and UK national lottery play, Journal of Consumer Culture, 3(2): 245–63, doi: 10.1177/14695405030032005.
-
Danziger, P. (2011) Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury: How New Consumer Values are Redefining the Way We Market Luxury, Rochester: Paramount Marketing Publishing.
-
Deaton, A. (1992) Understanding Consumption, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
-
Diener, E., Lucas, R.E. and Oishi, S. (2002) Subjective Well-being: the science of happiness and life satisfaction, in C.R. Snyder and S.J. Lopez (eds) Handbook of Positive Psychology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 463–73.
-
Duesenberry, J.S. (1949) Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behavior, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
-
Eastman, J.K. and Liu, J. (2012) The impact of generational cohorts on status consumption: an exploratory look at generational cohort and demographics on status consumption, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 29(2): 93–102, doi: 10.1108/07363761211206348.
-
Eastman, J.K., Goldsmith, R.E. and Flynn, L.R. (1999) Status consumption in consumer behavior: scale development and validation, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 7(3): 41–52, doi: 10.1080/10696679.1999.11501839.
-
Eckblad, G.F. and von der Lippe, A.L. (1994) Norwegian lottery winners: cautious realists, Journal of Gambling Studies, 10: 305–22, doi: 10.1007/BF02104899.
-
Eckhardt, G.M., Belk, R.W. and Wilson, J.A.J. (2015) The rise of inconspicuous consumption, Journal of Marketing Management, 31(7–8): 807–26, doi: 10.1080/0267257X.2014.989890.
-
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
-
Falk, P. and Mäenpää, P. (1999) Hitting the Jackpot: Lives of Lottery Millionaires, Oxford: Berg.
-
Featherstone, M. (2014) The rich and the super-rich: mobility, consumption, and luxury lifestyles, in N. Mathur (ed) Consumer Culture, Modernity and Identity, New Delhi: SAGE, pp 3–43.
-
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (2010) Predicting and Changing Behavior: The Reasoned Action Approach, New York: Psychology Press.
-
Fournier, S. and Guiry, M. (1993) ‘An emerald green jaguar, a house on Nantucket, and an African safari’: Wish lists and consumption dreams in materialist society, in L. McAlister and M.L. Rothschild (eds) NA: Advances in Consumer Research Volume 20, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, pp 352–8. https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/7470
-
Friedman, M. (1957) Introduction, in M. Friedman (ed) A Theory of the Consumption Function, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp 1–6.
-
Garber, M. (2008) Patronising the Arts, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
-
Goldsmith, R.E. and Clark, R.A. (2012) Materialism, status consumption, and consumer independence, The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(1): 43–60, doi: 10.1080/00224545.2011.555434.
-
Goldsmith, R.E., Flynn, L.R. and Clark, R.A. (2014) The etiology of the frugal consumer, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(2): 175–84, doi: 10.2466/09.20.CP.4.4.
-
Hedenus, A. (2011) Finding prosperity as a lottery winner: Presentations of self after acquisition of sudden wealth, Sociology, 45(1): 22–37, doi: 10.1177/0038038510387197.
-
Huttunen, K. and Autio, M. (2010) Consumer ethoses in Finnish consumer life stories: Agrarianism, economism and green consumerism, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 34(2): 146–52, doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00835.x.
-
Hyde, M., Higgs, P., Gilleard, G., Victor, C., Wiggins, D. and Rees Jones, I. (2008) Ageing, cohorts, and consumption: the British experience 1968–2005, in I.R. Rees Jones, M. Hyde, C.R. Victor, R.D. Wiggins, C. Gilleard and P. Higgs (eds) Ageing in a Consumer Society: From Passive to Active Consumption in Britain, Bristol: Policy Press, pp 93–125.
-
Jackson, V., Stoel, L. and Brantley, A. (2011) Mall attributes and shopping value: differences by gender and generational cohort, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 18(1): 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2010.08.002
-
Kuoppamäki, S.M., Wilska, T.A. and Taipale, S. (2017) Ageing and consumption in Finland: the effect of age and life course stage on ecological, economical and Self‐indulgent consumption among late Middle‐agers and young adults between 1999 and 2014, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41(5): 457–64, doi: 10.1111/ijcs.12353.
-
Larsson, B. (2011) Becoming a winner but staying the same: identities and consumption of lottery winners, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 70(1): 187–209, doi: 10.1111/j.1536-7150.2010.00768.x.
-
Mayo, J.W. and Tinsley, C.H. (2009) Warm glow and charitable giving: why the wealthy do not give more to charity, Journal of Economic Psychology, 30(3): 490–9, doi: 10.1016/j.joep.2008.06.001.
-
McCracken, G. (1988) Culture and Consumption, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
-
Meer, J., Miller, D. and Wulfsberg, E. (2017) The great recession and charitable giving, Applied Economics Letters, 24(21): 1542–9. doi: 10.1080/13504851.2017.1319556
-
Modigliani, F. and Brumberg, R. (1954/2005) Utility analysis and the consumption function: an interpretation of Cross-section data, in F. Modigliani (ed) The Collected Papers of Franco Modigliani, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp 3–46.
-
Parment, A. (2013) Generation Y vs. Baby Boomers: shopping behavior, buyer involvement and implications for retailing, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20(2): 189–99, doi: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.12.001.
-
Pennerstorfer, A. and Neumayr, M. (2017) Examining the association of welfare state expenditure, non-profit regimes and charitable giving, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 28: 532–55, doi: 10.1007/s11266-016-9739-7.
-
Prendergast, G. and Maggie, C. (2013) Donors’ experience of sustained charitable giving: a phenomenological study, Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30(2): 130–9, doi: 10.1007/s12208-022-00338-2.
-
Raijas, A. (2014) Kotitalouksien kulutuksen kehitys 2000-luvulla Suomessa ja Ruotsissa, Kansantaloudellinen Aikakauskirja, 110(4): 477–91, https://www.taloustieteellinenyhdistys.fi/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/KAK42014Raijas.pdf.
-
Räsänen, P. (2003) In the Twilight of Social Structures: A Mechanism-based Study of Contemporary Consumer Behaviour, Annales Universitatis Turkuensis, Ser. B 263, Turku: University of Turku.
-
Rees Jones, I.R., Hyde, M., Victor, C.R., Wiggins, R.D., Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. (eds) (2008) Ageing in a Consumer Society: From Passive to Active Consumption in Britain, Bristol: Policy Press.
-
Riihelä, M. (2006) Kotitalouksien kulutus ja säästäminen: Ikäprofiilien ja kohorttien kuvaus, Valtion taloudellinen tutkimuskeskus VATT/Institute for Economic Research: Keskustelualoitteita/Discussion Papers 267, http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:951-561-608-5.
-
Saari, H., Koivula, A., Sivonen, J. and Räsänen, P. (2019) Suomi 2019 – kulutus ja elämäntapa. Tutkimusseloste ja koodikirja, Working Papers in Economic Sociology, University of Turku, http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-29-7919-6.
-
Sarpila, O. and Haanpää, L. (2010) Luksustuotteet osana suomalaisten vapaavalintaista kulutusta koskevia haaveita, Kuluttajatutkimuskeskuksen Vuosikirja 2010, Helsinki: Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus, pp 42–58. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/152242.
-
Segal, B. and Podoshen, J.S. (2013) An examination of materialism, conspicuous consumption and gender differences, International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(2): 189–98, doi: 1111/j.1470-6431.2012.01099.x.
-
Silinskas, G., Ranta, M. and Wilska, T.A. (2021) Financial behaviour under economic strain in different age groups: predictors and change across 20 years, Journal of Consumer Policy, 44(2): 235–57, doi: 10.1007/s10603-021-09480-6.
-
Smith, A. (1759/2000) The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Amherst: Republished Prometheus Books.
-
Taber, K.S. (2018) The use of Cronbach’s Alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education, Research in Science Education, 48: 1273–96, doi: 10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2.
-
Thomas, S.J. and Danko, W.D. (2010) The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, New York: Taylor Trade Publishing.
-
van Leeuwen, M.H.D. and Wiepking, P. (2013) National campaigns for charitable causes: a literature review, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 42(2): 219–40, doi: 10.1177/0899764012467084.
-
Veblen, T. (1899/1994) The Theory of the Leisure Class, New York: Penguin Group.
-
Weber, M. (1904/2002) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, P. Baehr and G.C. Wells (trans) New York: Penguin Books.
-
Wilska, T.A. (2002) Me – a consumer? Consumption, identities and lifestyles in today’s Finland, Acta Sociologica, 45(3): 195–210, doi: 10.1177/000169930204500302.
-
Wilska, T.A. and Kuoppamäki, S. (2017) Necessities to all? The importance of ICT to the middle-aged and the elderly, in S. Taipale, T.A. Wilska and C. Gilleard (eds) Digital Technologies and Generational Identity: ICT Usage Across the Life Course, London: Routledge, pp 149–66.
Supplementary Materials
- Supplementary_AppendixS1.pdf (PDF 194 KB)
Search for other papers by Terhi-Anna Wilska in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Gintautas Silinskas in
Current site
Google Scholar
Search for other papers by Jussi Nyrhinen in
Current site
Google Scholar
| May 2022 onwards | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 686 | 686 | 84 |
| Full Text Views | 34 | 34 | 6 |
| PDF Downloads | 47 | 47 | 6 |
Institutional librarians can find more information about free trials here
We are a leading social science publisher
committed to making a difference.
Bristol University Press and
Policy Press
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk