Impact of Trend Orientation on Self Concept and Consumer Decision Making

Abstract

In contemporary consumer culture, the increasing impact of social media has escalated an individual’s tendency to follow trends, potentially impacting their internal beliefs and decision-making processes. This review article explores the influence of trend orientation on self-concept clarity and consumer decision making among young adults. Trends, encompassing socially shared patterns of preference or behavior gaining widespread acceptance within a specific time frame, act as an external influence that shapes an individual’s sense of self and approach towards purchase decisions. Individual’s internal structure may get affected if they rely on social cues and popularity signals while making purchase choices, and their self-expression in form of clothing might not align with their inner beliefs, rather gets shaped by collective expectations. This paper consolidates existing research to explain the relationship between trend orientation, consumer decision making, and self-concept clarity. It examines how following trends affect self-beliefs and styles of making purchase decisions in respect to clothing styles. Using keywords, eighteen studies have been identified. By integrating theoretical frameworks from various disciplines, this review provides insights into mechanisms underlying relationships between trend orientation, consumer decision making, and self-concept clarity.