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What makes you think people buy phones as a status symbol? I usually hear this from people who don’t buy Apple products misunderstanding the motivation of those

What makes you think people buy phones as a status symbol? I usually hear this from people who don’t buy Apple products misunderstanding the motivation of those who do.

danmaz74 8y ago
It used to be a real thing until a few years ago. Now, it's debatable.
nabla9 8y ago
Decades of research for marketing, branding and consumer behaviour seems to indicate that signaling to others is large motivation in buying decisions. Links between status signaling behavior based on expertise, need for status, and brand prominence seem to be significant. People are not always consciously aware of their motivations. Something just makes them feel right and they rationalize other reasons to justify it for themselves. Interesting recent research: Coming apart? Cultural distances in the United States over time https://www.nber.org/papers/w24771 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24771 >The brand most predictive of top income in 1992 is Grey Poupon Dijon mustard. 42 By 2004, the brand most indicative of the rich is Land O’Lakes butter, followed by Kikkoman soy sauce. By the end of the sample, ownership of Apple products (iPhone and iPad) tops the list. Knowing whether someone owns an iPad in 2016 allows us to guess correctly whether the person is in the top or bottom income quartile 69 percent of the time. Across all years in our data, no individual brand is as predictive of being high-income as owning an Apple iPhone in 2016.
- theslurmmustflo 8y ago
  If you can afford it, a Mercedes is a nicer car than a Toyota. An iPhone is better than most android phones and has a whole Apple ecosystem around it which many find is worth the premium. One might not be “signaling” as much as simply being able to afford a superior product.
- lawnchair_larry 8y ago
  That doesn't at all suggest that their phone or computer is the way they do that, or that this is what people who buy Apple products are doing.

What makes you think people buy phones as a status symbol? I usually hear this from people who don’t buy Apple products misunderstanding the motivation of those who do.

danmaz74 8y ago

It used to be a real thing until a few years ago. Now, it's debatable.

nabla9 8y ago

Decades of research for marketing, branding and consumer behaviour seems to indicate that signaling to others is large motivation in buying decisions. Links between status signaling behavior based on expertise, need for status, and brand prominence seem to be significant. People are not always consciously aware of their motivations. Something just makes them feel right and they rationalize other reasons to justify it for themselves. Interesting recent research: Coming apart? Cultural distances in the United States over time https://www.nber.org/papers/w24771 https://www.nber.org/papers/w24771 >The brand most predictive of top income in 1992 is Grey Poupon Dijon mustard. 42 By 2004, the brand most indicative of the rich is Land O’Lakes butter, followed by Kikkoman soy sauce. By the end of the sample, ownership of Apple products (iPhone and iPad) tops the list. Knowing whether someone owns an iPad in 2016 allows us to guess correctly whether the person is in the top or bottom income quartile 69 percent of the time. Across all years in our data, no individual brand is as predictive of being high-income as owning an Apple iPhone in 2016.

theslurmmustflo 8y ago
If you can afford it, a Mercedes is a nicer car than a Toyota. An iPhone is better than most android phones and has a whole Apple ecosystem around it which many find is worth the premium. One might not be “signaling” as much as simply being able to afford a superior product.
lawnchair_larry 8y ago
That doesn't at all suggest that their phone or computer is the way they do that, or that this is what people who buy Apple products are doing.