Consumer fantasies, feelings, fun …, and death? How mortality salience invokes consumers' fantastical thoughts about luxury products

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that the salience of one's mortality can influence the consumption of luxury goods because the higher monetary value of luxury goods pads one's self-esteem which in turn assuages fear aroused by death thought accessibility. The present research presents an alternative explanation for this relationship by exploring the role of fantasy in the relationship between mortality salience and the preference for luxury goods. In four studies, we consistently find that consumers demonstrate a greater preference for luxury goods when their mortality is made salient (vs. control condition). In study 2, we extend previous research by utilizing fantasy engagement to demonstrate that increased preference for luxury goods following mortality salience is constructed through engagement in fantastical thinking. In study 3, we use fantasy proneness as an individual difference variable to show that together, a heightened awareness of mortality and a greater capacity for fantastical thinking lead to a greater preference for luxury goods. Finally, in study 4 we rule out alternative explanatory variables such as materialism and status-based consumption to demonstrate that fantastical thinking mediates the relationship between death anxiety and evaluation of luxury goods whereas materialism and status-based consumption do not elicit the same effect. Based on our findings we conclude that when existential concerns are activated, luxury goods allow for greater fantasy engagement than non-luxury goods and that greater fantasy engagement increases preference for luxury goods. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.