Transitions during the formation process of consumption culture

Today, consumers are choosing among numerous alternatives and perform consumption activities accordingly. While choosing among these alternatives, they try to attain the product or service that the purchase decision will satisfy most. Rather than providing rational benefits, the product must be able to respond to emotions of the consumer. Current system makes the characteristics that consumers are seeking desirable by the present system. The economic system is instrumental in providing financial resources with the help of central authorities to ensure consumption. In addition, macroeconomic policies of governments, credit systems and similar structures, developed by financial markets under the name of liberalization to offer consumers consumption choices, have grown to such a degree that consumption now becomes a "culture". As the number of alternative media channels that ease communication of consumers with each other increases and popular culture becomes more dominant over the world, popular culture has turned into an umbrella culture embracing many subcultures under consumer culture On the other hand, the existing consumers' wants and desires are constantly changing while new consumer groups are emerging. This dissertation tries to find an answer to the question of how existing consumption practices are shaped among newly formed consumers. In this direction, veiled youths, who are a large consumer group in our country, were selected as the sample. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with young people. Main topics that were researched include investigation of consumption trends of consumers in this group, determination of products with the symbolic meaning, conspicuous consumption and status consumption patterns within these consumption tendencies, determination of which item is perceived and used by consumers to reflect these consumption tendencies, and figuring out the consumer segment which young women in this group want to be positioned within the consumer culture. In addition to the interviews, the social media profiles (all of which were veiled young women) followed by the participants were examined and the results were enriched with semiotics. Interviews were also held with specific store authorities to diversify the data and increase reliability of the study. Findings of the research revealed that consumption trends of the consumers in this group, growing in terms of both market share and number of consumers, can be classified under four titles which are interpretation of popular cultures through consumption, transforming consumption practices and their symbols, seeking to acquire authenticity and status, conspicuous consumption tendencies and interpretation of popular culture through consumption. The groups that have emerged as a result of this study present a considerable discussion in the marketing literature regarding transformation of consumer classes. Consumer groups under each title may be a subject of further research besides investigating whether similar structures are formed in different groups of consumers.