Potential Effects of Instagram Usage on Conspicuous Consumption of Premium Luxurious Fashion Products among Bulgarians

In the days when the notion of "keeping up with Joneses" is stepping back to "keeping up with the network", it is of great importance to seek an understanding of how classical theories and thoughts (such as Veblen's conspicuous consumption theory from 1899) are potentially affected as a result of the development of social media (SM). Nowadays, social media catalyses conspicuous consumption while expanding what is considered a social group and social classes and fuelling the aspirant group influence and social comparison. This paper provides a theoretical framework of the conspicuous consumption school of thought and characteristics of premium luxury fashion goods. It traces deep-rooted consumption patterns from Bulgaria's background and argues the potential underlying motives of conspicuous consumption. It further investigates consumer behaviour and addresses the existing gaps in the extant academic literature by discussing the results of an online survey among 130 respondents (53.1% of the respondents were 25 years of age or less, and 46.9% were above 25). The main objective of the paper is to study the relationship between variables of conspicuous consumption, the symbolic value of images displayed online, social media intensity and the fulfilment of social needs in the context of Instagram as a selected social media. The study data demonstrate that Instagram intensity fosters social comparison, which leads to an increased need for uniqueness. Younger individuals and females, in general, have the desire to project a conspicuous image online, and they would most likely post their luxurious premium fashion products online. Our findings confirm that social media fosters social comparison, resulting in an increased need for differentiation, uniqueness and social conformity. The findings add to a growing body of literature on social media and substantially to our understanding of Bulgarian customers' perception of premium luxury fashion products. Implications for Central European audience: The paper builds on extant literature in the field of conspicuous consumption, which is a common phenomenon in post-socialist countries. It provides a custom methodology for studying the conspicuous display of fashion items on Instagram, which is one of the most used communication media on a regular basis among young people in CEE (Eurostat, 2022) and the second most popular social media in Europe (Statcounter, 2022). The distribution of global social media users accounts for 5.7% in Central Europe and 5% in Eastern Europe (Statista, 2022). The results can be used by companies in the sector, new entrants, influencers, opinion leaders, etc.