When death looms, quiet shines: The quiet turn of luxury consumption under mortality salience

Abstract

As global crises heighten collective awareness of mortality, individuals increasingly seek luxury consumption as a coping mechanism. This research examines how existential threat influences luxury preferences, specifically addressing the transition from loud, status-oriented luxury to “quiet luxury”—characterized by subtlety, authenticity, and personal meaning. Using a multi-method approach that integrates one large-scale ecological analysis and two experimental studies, we present suggestive ecological evidence that heightened mortality awareness is associated with greater luxury interest independent of economic recovery. Furthermore, we find that mortality salience amplifies a preference for quiet luxury, particularly among consumers with strong minimalist orientations. We identify self-esteem striving as the psychological mechanism, find that its effect is stronger for quiet than for loud luxury, and show that minimalism functions as a key boundary condition. These findings extend existing literature on existential anxiety and consumption, offering insights into the evolving meaning and desirability of luxury in contemporary markets.