College Students’ Purchase Behaviors of Single-Serve Premium Juices

Abstract

There has been a surge in demand for premium single-serve juices, and college students may be in the forefront of this growing trend because of the perceived social status accompanied by their consumption. External influence (i.e., peer influence and social status) emerged as a component of motivation for the use of premium juices. Findings contribute to Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption, demonstrating that consumer motivation for status-laden products occurs even for consumable products that are relatively low cost.