How we pick our "reference groups"

• The development of mass production made it possible to produce things cheaply enough so that the majority of the population could afford them.
•  In addition, the automobile industry introduced the moving assembly line that created a significant declin...

Scholars answer this question in different ways. Economists assume that goods and services provide well-being and psychologists think it is part of human nature that ties back to evolutionary dynamics.

But the contemporary consumer society is more likely

While men seem to dominate particularly big purchases, women are more responsible for everyday purchasing such as food and apparel.

Looking at data from marketers, you see a disproportionate amount of spending done by women.

Black consumers are no different from white consumers. Although they spend on different things, there are not two types of consumers. 

The dynamics of black consumers are partly driven by racism. Middle-class and upper-middle-class blacks will have to spend more on wardrobes to avoid being ...

Increases in equality can give rise to competitive consumption - the idea that we spend because we compare ourselves with our peers and what they're spending.

Our society is structured so that our social esteem or value is connected to our ability to spend. The ina...

An easy way to look at consumerism is that marketers and advertisers have perfected tactics to get us to buy things, even if we don't need them. But American consumerism is also built on societal factors. We try to keep up with the Joneses, whoever they may be.