Poverty Consumption: Consumer Behavior of Refugees in Industrialized Countries

Abstract

To date, consumer research has devoted no attention to the consumer behavior of refugees in industrialized countries. This article summarizes research investigating the experiences of young refugees in a western country and the coping strategies they develop in consumer behavior in order to deal with the new situation of living in an affluent society. Another part of the study focuses on “sacred” possessions and on the question of whether they have a significant meaning for the adolescent refugees and for what reasons. The research was conducted in a shelter for adolescent refugees and was based chiefly on ethnographic fieldwork, collage techniques and long interviews, especially making use of male informants from Africa and Asia