The role of the desires for exclusivity and conformity on the purchase of conspicuous goods: The case of DLSU-Manila CBE students

This paper discusses on the role of the desires for exclusivity and conformity on the purchase of conspicuous goods. It aims at explaining the existence of a demand curve with an upward-sloping segment. It also investigates the conspicuousness of certain types of goods and the existence of conspicuous consumption among DLSU-Manila CBE students in general and when grouped according to gender, allowance bracket, degree program, and year level. Lastly, the paper aims to apply the results of the study for a positioning strategy for firms selling conspicuous goods. With the use of a Likert-type-scale, the group administered a survey using a convenience and stratified sampling to DLSU-Manila CBE students. The results show that in general, DLSU-Manila CBE students have a low tendency to consume conspicuously and they would want to show their uniqueness in purchasing goods. However, when uniqueness and conformity are correlated to conspicuous consumption, DLSU-Manila CBE students tend to consume conspicuously for the purpose of conforming, that is being like others. The same results are true when the results are grouped according to the different demographics. Given the results, the researchers were able to come up with a marketing positioning plan that would be very helpful for firms selling conspicuous goods