The Effect of Fear of COVID-19 on Luxury Consumption Tendency and the Role of Materialism

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of COVID-19 fear on people’s luxury consumption tendencies and the role of materialism in mediating the effect of COVID-19 fear on people’s luxury consumption tendencies. The theory of psychological reactance (TPR) serves as the theoretical foundation for this work. TPR explains why people are so motivated to regain their freedom when their ability to perform a specific action is threatened or hampered. Panic behaviours triggered by anxiety, fear, and uncertainty were observed in almost every society at the start of the pandemic, and people tended to purchase food and hygiene products, particularly those required for survival. Consumers who gained the freedom to purchase goods or services from stores that opened as a result of the relaxation of restrictions immediately following the pandemic period turned to luxury goods in search of "compensation". When the pandemic rules are initially relaxed, consumers’ "luxury consuming" behaviour/freedom is restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to "revenge buying". Based on the TPR, it is assumed that the COVID-19 fear of consumers following extraordinary processes such as pandemics may have a positive effect on their luxury consumption tendencies in this study. The online questionnaire technique was used in the study to collect data. Data were gathered from 845 adults aged 18 and up who volunteered to participate in the study in Turkey. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to analyse the data for the measurement model and hypothesis testing in the study. The study’s findings show that COVID-19 fear has a significant and positive effect on the desire to consume luxury goods. Furthermore, materialism plays an important and positive mediating role in the influence of fear of COVID-19 on the tendency to consume luxury goods. While this study contains cultural relics of luxury consumption tendencies, it also provides critical insights into consumer luxury tendencies in the aftermath of COVID-19. It is critical to evaluate various elements that may influence luxury consumption tendencies to analyse the effects of comparable processes that may be experienced by future consumers.