Materialism Moderates the Impact of Mortality Salience on Impulsive Tendencies toward Luxury Brands

Abstract

Luxury goods have been shown to help individuals coping with death-related anxiety. However, the extent to which the symbolic value allocated to possessions (i.e., materialism) moderates this effect is still unclear. Here, we investigated the impact of materialism on impulsive approach tendencies toward luxury clothing brands in a context of mortality salience. Results showed that the impact of mortality salience was moderated by materialism with lower impulsive approach tendencies toward luxury clothing brands observed in non-materialistic participants. These findings highlight how materialistic values may impact luxury consumption through impulsive pathways in a situation of death-related anxiety.