How Consumer Culture Influences What We Buy

By Janey Dike on August 24, 2014

Have you ever decided to buy a shirt because of the company name printed on the front? Or a pair of shoes because of the logo engraved on the bottoms? Maybe even a bag with the designer’s symbol covering every inch of fabric?

Every day, Americans buy expensive apparel products, and the decision is not always based on the quality or necessity of the item. The country’s consumer culture and obsession with brand and designer names cause people to spend their money on labels. Essentially, they pay money to advertise for companies.

Why is it that the name on the clothing we wear so often ends up being a much more important factor than the clothing itself?

image via id-cube.com

After the Great Depression and World War II, America’s economy found itself on the rise once again. People had more spending power as they found jobs and received higher wages.

Along with the growth of the economy came the purchasing of goods. But even before this time period, consumer culture had begun shifting from needs-based purchases to desire-based purchases.

In the early twentieth century, the clever advertiser, Edward Bernays, understood that appealing to the subconscious mind of consumers could persuade them into buying products.

In actuality, consumers were buying the ideas and promises that the advertisements skillfully linked to the products. Creating advertisements that appeal to customer desires and ideals is what shapes our consumer culture today.

Makeup and fashion ads aimed at women don’t just promise them lipstick color or long eyelashes; they promise women confidence, success and maybe even an attractive, adoring boyfriend.

A car advertisement targeting men doesn’t just promise a working car to get them from point A to point B; it promises coolness, masculinity, and attention from a never-ending line of beautiful women.

Food companies use their products to subconsciously convince people that eating their goods will do wonders for the growth and bonding of families. Eating their cereal or burgers or cookies will create traditions, make children happy, and cause everyone to gather around the kitchen table.

The tactics can be applied to almost every product available on the market. If you analyze advertisements and the packaging on products enough, you can probably figure out for whom the product was created for and what it promises.

In terms of designer names and brands on clothing, accessories, and beauty products, people buy them because of the values and indications they see in the items.

Often, brands have a certain image that they promote. Some designers embody a preppy look, some capture a classical essence, others go for boho chic.

Whatever it is, the designer creates clothing that encompasses a certain lifestyle. People subconsciously desire the lifestyles or the values that come with clothing. This causes them to invest a lot of money into specific designer names.

Perhaps Lilly Pulitzer represents colorful outings, boat rides with friends, and a carefree, high-class way of life. Free People may cause women to feel independent and unconventional. The popularity of Abercrombie & Fitch among middle and high-school students is probably due to the acceptance and popularity that preteens/teens think that they will attain by wearing the company’s name and popular moose symbol.

People want their clothing to represent who they are as a person. If they want to be a certain person, they may choose the clothing that they believe matches with those desires.

image via galleryhip.com

This leads to another reason for buying designer and brand name clothing. Wearing a well-known (and probably expensive) brand lets other people know that you own clothes produced by that company. It gives you a certain status. It tells people that see you wearing the clothing or holding the designer bag that you can afford it (even if in actuality it was a hand-me-down or purchased at a thrift store).

It alerts people that you are hip to the latest designer fashions. It can show people that you are of a higher class and that you are important. At least, this is what people wearing brands and designer clothing want to believe.

People also tend to be attracted to ideas and products that are familiar. Seeing a brand or logo over and over makes it stick out. The familiar feels safe and comforting. If someone used a designer brand once and liked the product, it’s likely that they will purchase more from the brand because of the consistent satisfaction. People can also justify the expense of a brand if they feel it is of good quality.

image via wisegeek.com

While designer brands can be of better, more consistent quality than other company products, it isn’t the main reason for people’s purchasing decisions. When people buy clothing with well-known and expensive logos, they aren’t just buying necessary clothing: they are buying a product that they believe will fulfill their desires and solve their problems.

While consumers don’t actively decide that a Vineyard Vines hat or a Ralph Lauren polo will improve their lives or make them more popular, the ideas are subconsciously instilled into their minds.

Advertisements influence the way we view certain brands and we see certain values and ideals in the products that we buy, whether we realize it or not. So the next time you’re in line to buy your next piece of clothing or beauty product, look at the label and think about all of the reasons you chose to pick up that item.

Most likely, the actual quality to price ratio won’t be the only thing on that list.

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