• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.87-107
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• 2016

Small luxury purchase as self-gifting is one of the latest consumer trends in self-gifting. Although this consumption trend continues to grow in various fields, little research has been conducted on related consumer behavior. As such, this study was conducted to empirically investigate the current consumer behavior involved in purchase of small luxury self-gifts. The objectives of this study are to determine the current status of self-gifts markets, identify motives and orientations of self-gifting, and investigate the effects of the motives on self-gifts orientations. A total of 199 respondents were used in data analyses. Regarding motives for self-gifting, four motives - self-comfort, self-reward, anxiety, and showing off - were identified; regarding self-gifting orientations, five factors - rationalization (emotional comfort, product attributes, self-defense, and conformity) and the luxury being within one's spending limit - were identified. The study determined the effects of the motives on the orientations, and the effects of the motives and the orientations on post-purchase consumer reaction. This study conducted an empirical investigation on small luxury self-gifting and moreover, the study determined the motives, orientations, and consequences of self-gifting, which have not yet been explained in the literature.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.110-123
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• 2023

As social distancing strengthened after the COVID-19 incident, people looked for things they could do alone. Additionally, as people have more financial resources, they purchase products they had previously considered purchasing, and the phenomenon of giving gifts to oneself has also appeared. Accordingly, this study analyzed fashion product reviews of KakaoTalk Gift, the service to exchange gift via SNS mobile app, to discover the phenomenon of self-gifting and the differences from interpersonal-gifting. For post-hoc data, in collected 18,354 pieces after excluding unnecessary data using a Python-based web crawling technique. The self-gifting behavior of KakaoTalk Gift different from the previous study for self-gift. Regardless of the gift-giving contexts, it determines that most self-gift products are material items. There are differences in product types and price levels when choosing gifts for others and oneself. As a self-gift, people typically buy luxury jewelry and branded bags/wallets to wear and show off. As interpersonal, among fashion products, people usually buy beauty products that reflect less personal tastes. When gift-giving to others, people buy products to appropriate prices to reduce the burden on both. When gift-giving to oneself, people buy wanted products regardless of the price. This study is significant because it suggests a new direction in self-gift research by limited online places to give gifts.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.89-102
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• 2020

Consumers purchase gifts for themselves and for others. This research examined whether one's preferred purchase type (material or experiential) would depend on the gift recipient (self or others). A total of 200 participants took part in online studies via Amazon Mechanical-Turk. Based on the construal-level theory, people will focus on concrete product attributes for psychologically close objects; however, for psychologically distant objects, people will concentrate on abstract product attributes. Study 1 demonstrated that participants preferred material over experiential purchases in self-gifting situations, while they preferred experiential compared to material gifts for others. In Study 2, it was found that individual differences in emotional disconnection moderated the effect of gift recipient on preferred gift type. Specifically, the differences in preferred gift type increased as one's emotional disconnection level increased. The results of this research have theoretical implications in terms of extending construal-level theory to gift-purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, this research has practical implications for marketers and advertisers. Limitations and possible future research directions were also discussed.