Driven to love: Business booms when passion meets possessions

Social isolation in the U.S. has been on the rise for decades, according to research conducted in 2006 by sociologists. Yet, that sad news might not be bad news for business, if companies heed insights uncovered by John Lastovicka, a marketing professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business. His investigations indicate that loneliness is one route that leads people to fall in love with possessions, and where there's love, there's money. People who demonstrate what Lastovicka calls material-possession love spend significantly more time and money on the objects of their affections than others in the marketplace.

Social isolation in the U.S. has been on the rise for decades, according to research conducted in 2006 by sociologists. Since 1985, the number of Americans who said they had no one with whom they could discuss personal problems doubled, and the number of people who claimed their spouse as their only confidant grew 50 percent.

Yet, that sad news might not be bad news for business, if companies heed insights uncovered by John Lastovicka, a marketing professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business. His investigations indicate that loneliness is one route that leads people to fall in love with possessions, and where there's love, there's money. People who demonstrate what Lastovicka calls material-possession love spend significantly more time and money on the objects of their affections than others in the marketplace.

Terms of endearment

Granted, a positive attitude or evaluation often precedes or accompanies a purchase, and the positive-attitude-to-purchase connection has long been recognized. But, Lastovicka notes, marketing research has fallen short in measuring love and the financial impact of love for possessions, and he's found that impact to be significant.

"Love smitten consumers nurture their beloved possessions, in part, by buying complimentary products and services for them," he notes in an article just published in the Journal of Consumer Research co-authored with Nancy J. Sirianni, an assistant professor of marketing at Texas Christian University and doctoral candidate in marketing at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

In studying material-possession love, Lastovicka and Sirianni adopted the view that love is a form of attachment. They also borrowed from the classical Greek taxonomy of love, which holds that there are multiple forms of love, such as philias (friendship) or eros (romantic adult love.) According to Lastovicka and Sirianni, most marketing-related research lumps love into one generic form, rather than recognizing different kinds of love.

These researchers found such an approach to be a mistake, and they examined multiple forms of love characterized by varying degrees of passion, intimacy and commitment. The scholars defined passion as the hot emotion driving the love-smitten to be with the object of their love, intimacy as physical and intellectual knowledge of the beloved, and commitment as devotion to always own and keep the loved thing.

Things we do for love

Lastovicka and Sirriani see product nurturing as an important consequence found among those who are stricken by material-possession love. Says Lastovicka: "Psychologists have shown that the innate love template within us that drives parents to care for their children also shows up in the caring that people have for their romantic partners as adults. We take it a step further and show that those who love what they own really go out of their way to spend more time and money on what they love."

How does all this love-driven nurturing translate into buying behavior? To find out, Lastovicka and Sirianni analyzed survey responses from car owners. Those who exhibited enduring romantic love for their vehicles spent three times more dollars on washing and waxing and bodywork in a year than others in the marketplace.

Such impacts don't stop with cars, either. Lastovicka and Sirianni also looked at those who exhibited love for computers, bicycles and firearms. With computers, those who exhibited companionate love, which is characterized by high intimacy and high commitment, spent more than twice as much on their computers and ancillary equipment than the rest of the marketplace.

The same was true with those having companionate love for bicycles. Regardless of the type of love exhibited or the products examined, consumers who loved their possessions outspent the general public significantly. In most cases, the love smitten spent double or triple the dollars on what they owned in comparison to that spent by other consumers. In some cases, the difference was far greater.

"I started looking at market segmentation data 40 years ago and, most of the time, a "good" segment that spends a lot is using maybe 10 percent or 20 percent more than the average market," Lastovicka notes. "Here, we're finding people who are spending as much as six times more than other consumers. This is a really powerful motivation."

Looking for love

What kinds of consumers wind up in love with material possessions? Lastovicka and Sirianni found a strong correlation between interpersonal deficit — or loneliness — and material-possession love. Going back to the idea of love as a form of attachment, the researchers note that many psychologists view attachment and proximity seeking as innate motivators for most people.

When these motivators fail to attain a desired goal, as would happen if a would-be Romeo was repeatedly spurned by various Juliets, "deactivation" results. That is, some people adapt to amorous frustration by turning romantic attention elsewhere, such as a 1957 Chevy, the on-line world offered by a computer or some other relatively safe harbor found in the marketplace.

Lastovicka and Sirianni see this behavior as a potential source of consumer well being. "Alcoholism, depression — there are so many other things lonely people can get involved with that are truly worse than something like this," Lastovicka says. He also sees tremendous opportunity in using material-possession love as an element in product planning and marketing.

"If we can mimic in the manmade world what nature does in making something attractive, we'll be more likely to elicit an emotional response to what is offered in the marketplace," he notes, adding that most interpersonal romantic relationships often start with physical attraction, so that's something for product designers to consider.

"The aesthetic appeal that Apple products offer is an example of this approach and demonstrates a business that has done really well with this." Other steps marketers could take to give love a little push might be helping consumers become more "hands-on" or physically intimate with what they own.

"For example, there are lots of car lovers out there who would like to work on their cars and have more of a hands-on experience with their car. But, too often what's found under to the hood of most modern cars is just inaccessible to the average consumer," Lastovicka explains.

"In contrast, I've heard that when Nissan introduced the fifth generation of their sports car in 2002 — the Nissan 350Z — they actually de-engineered what's under the hood a little to make it easier for Z-car owners to actually work on their own cars. That helped create a more satisfying experience for many of those Z-car drivers. And that also means that those satisfied with those 2002 Nissans would be more likely to buy another Nissan later on."

Lastovicka cautions business not to be judgmental about those smitten consumers who are in the throes of material possession love. One thing not to think is "Wow, those lonely product-loving consumers sure are losers." Still Lastovicka says he's dismayed by how many marketers have this reaction.

"I've presented this research at a couple of conferences, and I've been surprised that people in my own field can be judgmental and are quick to ridicule those in love with a possession. "It's easy to ridicule these people and assume these folks are odd. But if that ridicule ends up being conveyed to these consumers, they'll go elsewhere and give their money to another business that is less judgmental," he warns. "And, these folks have very deep pockets and will spend a lot on the things that they love."

Bottom Line

• Interpersonal deficit and the loneliness that can result is one driver of material-possession love among consumers.
• Consumers who exhibit love for their belongings display behaviors in common with people who are in love with other people.
• These behaviors include passion, intimacy, commitment and nurturing of the beloved item.
• As a result, people who exhibit material-possession love spend significantly more time and money on their beloved belongings than others in the marketplace.
• Because it is all too easy to ridicule these valuable consumers who are in love with what they own, businesses need to take extra steps to make sure they are respectfully dealing with such consumers.