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Hipster Consumer Behavior

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Topic: Hipster Consumer Behavior Most people still have an uneasy time precisely defining the term 'hipster', but Times (2009) seems to have no problem nor in determining their desires: Hipsters are the friends who sneer when you cop to liking Coldplay. They're the people who wear t-shirts silk-screened with quotes from movies you've never heard of and the only ones in America who still think Pabst Blue Ribbon is a good beer. They sport cowboy hats and berets and think Kanye West stole their sunglasses. Everything about them is exactingly constructed to give off the vibe that they just don't care (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1913220,00.html) Ironically, whilst companies and industries in the music, fashion, and media target or attempt to target the 'hipster' with products that they label 'in', so-called hipsters strenuously avoid these products by going for the 'out'. Wise's (2009) study on "hipsterism "observed that: People are largely motivated to spend money not just on things that they materially need, but that bolster their sense of identity. They purchase not just goods and services, but mythologies. Imagining themselves as rugged, rebellious patriots, they buy a Harley-Davidson. Imagining themselves as respected and well-heeled, they buy a Lexus. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/extreme-fear/201009/the-sad-science-hipsterism) Hipsters, however, are the opposite. They follow a different paradigm that makes them swim directly against the

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