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Houston Matters

Study: Consumers Often Feel Guilt When Buying Luxury Items

During the holidays, do you ever feel pressure to buy things you really can’t afford? According to research co-authored by a University of Houston professor, many of us actually feel guilt when buying a luxury product – whether during the holidays or the rest of the year. Dr. Vanessa Patrick at UH’s Bauer College of […]

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During the holidays, do you ever feel pressure to buy things you really can't afford? According to research co-authored by a University of Houston professor, many of us actually feel guilt when buying a luxury product – whether during the holidays or the rest of the year.

Dr. Vanessa Patrick at UH’s Bauer College of Business studies consumer psychology and what motivates us to buy a luxury product over a less luxurious one — like, say, a Rolex over a Timex. She tells Paige Phelps more about her research and why companies put so much into the annual holiday marketing blitz.

MORE:
Luxury-Charity Partnerships Can Help Promote Retail Sales This Holiday Season (Phys.org, Dec. 14, 2015)
Study: Gilt and Guilt: Should Luxury and Charity Partner at the Point of Sale? (Henrik Hagtvedta & Vanessa M. Patrick, Aug. 15, 2015)

Michael Hagerty

Michael Hagerty

Senior Producer, Houston Matters

Michael Hagerty is the senior producer for Houston Matters. He's spent more than 20 years in public radio and television and dabbled in minor league baseball, spending four seasons as the public address announcer for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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