Effect of popularity and peer pressure on attitudes toward luxury among teens

Purpose Peer pressure and popularity are important issues for teenagers, potentially affecting teenagers’ attitudes toward luxury products. In turn, peer pressure and popularity can potentially be affected by self-concept clarity (how clearly teens view themselves). The authors empirically aim to investigate these relationships using data from a sample of Brazilian teens and find that self-concept clarity has a significant effect on peer pressure, popularity and social consumption motivation, which, by itself, directly affects attitudes toward luxury items. Design/methodology/approach The total sample consisted of 558 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 (grades 7 through 12). Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings The results of the study suggest that teenagers’ social consumption motivations positively affect attitudes toward luxury. Originality/value The paper first explicitly examines the impact of peer pressure and popularity on attitude toward luxury among teenagers.