Designing youth consumption style in social media

Abstract

Social networks are now becoming more common and popular among young consumers in Kazakh- stan. Young consumers see the flow of content from firms on social networks, but either this content useful to them. The purpose of the work is to study the impact of social networks on consumption and style design among Kazakhstani youth. The results of youth survey, which were carried out online among consumers aged 21 to 30 years in the city of Almaty, are provided in this article.

The article presents in great detail the concepts by V.I.Ilyin, S.Fris, E.L.Omelchenko, P.Bourdieu, T.Luckman, I.Hoffman, I.N.Ivanova, as well as classical sociological theories (K.Marx, M.Weber, G.Zimmel, T.Veblen, V.Zombart). Socio-economic situation of the individual is considered as a deter- mining factor in consumer behavior.

Although social media has many benefits for consumers, they all boil down to one thing: informa- tion. Consumers need information in order to make purchasing decisions quickly and reliably, and social networks have made this information available at hand. Social networks are also a form of expression for consumers and allow their voice to reach the companies and brands that they usually buy. The practical significance of the study contains several recommendations for optimizing the benefits of social net- works for young consumers.

Key words: social media, youth, consumption, design of consumption styles, Kazakhstan, shopping