Don't fall into exquisite poverty: The impact of mismatch between consumers and luxury brands on happiness

For the phenomenon that many young people blindly pursue luxury goods that do not match their identity, this research examines how the discrepancy between consumers’ actual self-congruity and ideal self-congruity towards the luxury brand affects their happiness after purchase. Across four studies, the research found that this discrepancy would cause consumers’ inauthentic feelings, driven by both self-assessment and expected others’ negative feedback, thus reducing their subjective well-being in luxury usage. However, the effect would be alleviated when consumers purchase the luxury under intrinsic motivations or present it to others with distant social distance. The research extends previous literature on luxury consumption, self-congruity as well as authenticity, and provides several managerial implications for consumers and marketers.