Abstract:

Consumption may be defined as the supply of people’s desire and needs in return for a certain cost. The meaning that consumption bears has changed over the years passed. Not only did consumption remain as an activity performed so that people could meet their biological needs, but it turned out to be something carried out by those seeking for a social status within the society, as well. Veblen argued that consumption has a conspicuous aspect and coined the term “conspicuous consumption” into the litera- ture. Consumers performing conspicuous consumption are able to benefit from social status, prestige and reputation which derive from consuming a product or a service by talking about them with the people around. This study aims to scrutinize the impact of word of mouth marketing on conspicuous consump- tion. The samples in the study are individuals over 18 living in Istanbul. In this context, 407 consumers are involved in the study. Obtained data have been analyzed by using SPSS Version 21 (Statistical Packages for Social Science).

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