Why People Buy Luxurious Things in the Middle of a Financial Crisis

How ‘shoptimism’ drives consumers even when it’s irrational

Rob Walker
Marker
Published in
5 min readMay 7, 2020

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Photo: shyrokova/Getty Images

About a month ago, as the stark reality of the pandemic lockdown set in, I hit a personal low point — worried and pessimistic about the economy in general, about the financial future of my city and of my household.

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