Introduction to the Special Issue on Consumer identities

Much of our consumer behavior involves some degree of self-reflection—about who we are or are seen to be. Consumers can adopt, possess and strive for multiple identities, depending on the consumption context and the social environment. It is thus not surprising that consumers' sense of who they are—their identity—is an important driver of consumer behavior. Consumer identities may refer to who we currently are, who we used to be, want to be, or should (not) be. Any one of these identities can influence thoughts, feelings, judgments, and drive even the most mundane consumption choices. Despite the long tradition of academic marketing research exploring identity-based consumer behavior, many important questions remain unanswered and many new ones are rapidly gaining importance due to social and technological changes such as social networking and globalization. This special issue presents 11 articles to capture some of the latest thinking on consumer identities.

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