Conspicuous consumption in the name of Allah

While there has been considerable study of conspicuous consumption in marketing, no research has investigated conspicuous consumption of religious products. In this paper, we argue that consumers may need to demonstrate their association and support for a religion in part by the purchase, use and display of religious products. We explore consuming of religious products via observations and in-depth interviews conducted with different stakeholders involved in the distribution and consumption of religious commodities in Pakistan. Automated computer analysis of transcripts and fieldnotes highlights the different concepts that shape the thinking of each group. A large majority of the participants' accounts offered justifications and excuses (Corrado, 1991) as possible explanations for consumers' conspicuous behaviour. Our findings can help better understand these dynamics within a Muslim society. It is recommended that visual elicitation technique be used in any future data collection exercise.