# The effect of mental accounting in the luxury market: prepared and unprepared consumers

## TL;DR

This study explores how social media affects luxury consumption by influencing perceptions of inequality and mental accounting.

## Contribution

The study reveals that mental accounting moderates the effects of social media on luxury attitudes through subjective inequality.

## Key findings

- SNS usage increases luxury attitude directly and indirectly through subjective inequality.
- Mental accounting weakens the direct effect of SNS usage but amplifies the indirect effect via inequality.
- Mental accounting serves as both a buffer and a justification mechanism in luxury consumption.

## Abstract

Social networking sites (SNSs) are increasingly influencing consumer behavior and attitudes toward luxury consumption by fostering social comparison and perceived inequality.

We conducted a survey with 320 U.S.-based participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Measures included SNS usage, subjective inequality, mental accounting, and luxury attitude. Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 15) was used for moderated mediation analysis.

SNS usage significantly increased luxury attitude directly and indirectly through subjective inequality. Mental accounting moderated both the direct and indirect effects: high mental accounting weakened the direct effect but amplified the indirect effect via inequality.

These findings suggest that mental accounting acts both as a self-regulatory buffer and a justification mechanism in luxury consumption. The study highlights the psychological pathway through which SNS usage influences luxury attitude and offers theoretical and practical implications for consumer behavior research.