Navigating consumers’ religiosity and consumption trajectories: a narrative-biographical approach

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between religion and consumption through exploring Muslim consumers’ religiosity and consumption trajectories within the socio-culture conditions of Egypt. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a narrative-biographical approach to explore Muslim consumers’ perceptions of their consumption trajectories. This narrative approach was implemented through interviews, observations and field diaries. Data were collected from five families who belong to a higher upper social class. Findings The findings suggest that Muslim consumers experience an undulating pattern throughout their consumption trajectories. They tend to display high, moderate or low-to-non-adherence to religion over the course of their lives, which in turn influences their consumption choices. Additionally, the data reveals the conflicts that participants experience when their consumption decisions contradict their religious beliefs and uncovers the mechanisms, they adopt to resolve these conflicts. Practical implications Based on insights from industries such as women’s fashion, private schooling and higher education, furniture and luxury products, the study offers marketers guidance on how religion can be used in segmentation strategies. It urges marketers to tailor their programmes and unique selling messages to appeal to consumers with varying levels of religiosity. Additionally, it recommends that marketers highlight the benefits of products and services for the whole family, considering the influence family members have on each other’s choices. Moreover, it urges marketers to emphasise in their marketing programmes how their offerings can help resolve the dissonance that arises between consumers’ religious beliefs and their chosen products. Originality/value The authors present a model to interpret Muslim consumers’ religiosity and consumption trajectories, considering various factors beyond religiosity that combines the etic and emic perspectives between religious beliefs and consumption decision. This study collected original data from five Egyptian families and is notable for being the first to adopt a biographical-narrative methodology within the Islamic marketing domain, as well as the first empirical study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, on Egyptian consumers using this approach.