"I buy cause I must have, don't cause I must use": an exploration of nonuse

Abstract

The purchase and its consequences have been widely studied in consumer behavior. However, these studies assume that purchased products and services will be used somehow, disregarding the possibility of non-use. Non-use, which may happen due to a consumer tendency to materialism, understood as the desire to have or possess, occurs when a person purchases a good planning to use it, but it does not happen. This paper presents an initial approach on the non-use, approached through an exploratory study conducted with eight women self-declared makeups compulsive buyers. Results associated non-use with the desire to have, compulsion behaviors and a tendency to materialism.