Symbolic Consumption in Upscale Cafés

Abstract

The growth in premium coffee consumption in South Korea along with increased incomes and lifestyle changes has created important opportunities for marketers to target customers in the international market. To take advantage of these opportunities, it is critical to understand the underlying factors that motivate Gen Y coffee consumers in Korea in order to provide guidance for international food and beverage businesses. This study investigates three possible mechanisms in terms of the individual, social, and functional evaluations of customers with respect to coffee consumption in upscale cafés. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that the basic motivational drivers of Korean Gen Y consumers’ premium coffee consumption in cafés are similar to dimensions of luxury value such as materialism, conformity, conspicuous tendencies, and functional dimensions. Moreover, this study discovered the moderating effect of income source according to the context in which it is obtained (gifted money or earned money) in terms of young consumers spending habits.