Investigation of consumers' reasons of hedonic consumption in terms of living style attitudes and innovation levels

There are changes in almost every field such as developing technology, transportation, communication and differentiating culture and cultural environments. These changes also affect people's daily lives, tastes, preferences, lifestyles and perceptions of consumption. Buying behaviors of the consumers are not always shaped by rational motives but also by emotional motives. Together with the basic benefit of the product, consumers tend to shop in order to satisfy their emotions, to take pleasure and to brighten. In addition to these emotional motives evaluated within the concept of Hedonic Consumption, life perception attitudes and innovativeness are also influential factors in buying behaviors of consumers. The analysis of the extent to which these factors affect consumers' reasons for shopping will require enterprises to implement different marketing strategies by observing consumer buying behaviors. In this study, which is conducted to compare these factors affecting the purchasing decisions of consumers; consumers' reasons for making hedonic consumption, lifestyle attitudes and levels of adopting innovations are examined. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle attitude scale, hedonic consumption reasons scale, and attitude scale for adopting innovations were used in the questionnaire form. The questionnaires were applied to consumers from Bayburt who were over 18 and living in Bayburt city center. The data obtained from the study was analyzed with SPSS 22 package program. In the comparison of lifestyle attitudes with the causes of hedonic consumption and with demographic characteristics; it was found that women, singles and the young were more dominant in both factors; and lifestyle attitudes and hedonic consumption reasons differed according to occupation, education and income levels. According to their level of adaptation to innovations, the results revealed that women, singles and people with low income were more likely to adapt to innovations. According to the analysis of the relation between lifestyle attitudes and the causes of hedonic consumption; "The Believers" were found to hold the lowest level of hedonic consumption. The comparison between hedonic consumption reasons and innovation levels showed that those who had high and medium levels of innovation made more hedonic consumption. According to the analysis of the relation between lifestyle attitudes and innovation levels; it was concluded that the level of innovation was low in "The Thinkers", and the level of innovation was moderate and high in the others Key Words: Consumption, Consumer Behavior, Lifestyle, Hedonic Consumption, Adaptation to Innovation, Innovativeness