Conspicuous consumption in a recession: Toning it down or turning it up?

The 2008 recession reportedly led to the demise of conspicuous consumption with wealthy consumers abandoning luxury goods that prominently display their brands for more subdued designs. Utilizing data collected before and in the midst of the recession from designer handbag manufacturers, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, we find products introduced during the recession actually display the brand far more prominently than those products withdrawn. Data fromHermès and luxury ads inVoguemagazine also indicate manufacturers did not tone things down. Our results suggest conspicuous consumption endures in recessions; consumers who do not exit the luxury goods market are still interested in logo-laden products. © 2010 Society for Consumer Psychology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.