Weiss and Fershtman (1998) defined social status as the ‘’ranking of individuals based on their characteristics, assets, and actions.’’ That might not be applicable nowadays as statistics highlight a decrease in homeownership for various countries in Europe (Chapman 2018; Schmid 2018b, 2018a, ). This trend is impacting, even more, the car owner. It is estimated that Great Britain has recorded a steady decline over the last years, while sales in Turkey plummeted 60% (Edwards 2019). With this in mind, a question arises: What does this mean for today’s society?

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According to Eckhardt and Bardhi (2020), this is a new societal trend. They named it liquid consumption and it translated into less interest for owned assets and increase interest for dematerialized, ephemeral, access-based consumption. In other words, this means that millennials are rating unique, enlightening experiences greater than solid possessions (Keinan, A. and Kivetz, R. 2010) and work is not anymore tied to a specific work-place (Eckhardt and Bardhi 2020). This contemporary society is driven by two attributes: Flexibility and Attention (Eckhardt and Bardhi 2020).

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Whereas in solid consumption having a stable job, being committed to a company and people, were regarded as valuable qualities, nowadays one’s capability to detach easily from people, jobs or places is ‘’an axis of social distinction and status hierarchy’’ (Eckhardt and Bardhi 2020). Millennials who possess flexible skills and are in a restless pursuit of new projects and career opportunities are more likely to succeed (Eckhardt and Bardhi 2020). In this context, a new term emerged: freelancer. A freelancer is a person ‘’ working independently for different companies rather than being employed by one particular company’’ (Longman Dictionary 25-Mar-20). The areas covered by this new type of self-employment are numerous and include among others Web. Mobile and Software Development, Data Science and Analytics or Customer Service (upwork.com 25-Mar-20). This implies not only a change of perception in the work-life but also in a person’s lifestyle. As mentioned above, they are no longer hanging to possessions and this offers them the possibility to relocate to new counties, form extensive networks and constantly accumulate new knowledge (Bardhi, F. and Eckhardt, G.M. 2012).

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Another way to ‘’gain points and level up’’ in this attention economy is by becoming an online figure, a microcelebrity (Rokka Joonas and Canniford Robin 2016). These microcelebrities dedicate their time to create impressive online communities for economic gains. TV audiences shifted to online audiences and these microcelebrities, better known as influencers, are asked to promote various products in exchange for money. One example would be Kylie Jenner how said she might earn for a single post 750.000 pounds (Hamish Mackay 2018). Their attention capital is quantified in the number of subscribers, likes, shares or followers (Rokka Joonas and Canniford Robin 2016). In order to gain more attention to capital, social media users are portraying idealized images of themselves (Pitcan, M., Marwick, A.E. and Boyd, D. 2018). This ultimately influences how we perceive beauty and how we perceive ourselves in comparison to our peers (Chua and Chang 2016).

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None the less, social hierarchy is not obliviated. The new markers of status are Inconspicuous consumption and Taste (Eckhardt and Bardhi 2020). Not long before, the more high-end products you possessed, the better you were considered (Veblen T 1899/1994). That changed in the liquid consumption era, where practices such as recycling, consuming bioproducts or up-cycling are markers of a higher status position (Currid-Halkett 2017). Even though this lifestyle seems to be flawless, the mass demand for avocado is creating environmental issues. It is reported that mature pine trees are deforested to plant avocado trees and that avocado production implies extensive use of water (Blythman 2016). May this inconspicuous consumption does not mean inconspicuous production after all?

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In line with scholars who evoke a new generation predilection for experiences and personal development, in exchange of possessions (Weinberger, M.F., Zavisca, J.R. and Silva, J.M. 2017), one Internet user stated the following ‘’Today is the day. The china, stored glasses, and gold chains are all impossible to use now. I sold everything and went on a trip with my daughter. I keep saying goodbye to things in exchange for experiences’’ (Clorinda Ana Tartaggia, Facebook). In this search for unique taste and authenticity, people are appreciating self-production over mass production (Ocejo 2017), the shared goods over-owned goods, and tech luxuries over jewelry (Bardhi, F. and Eckhardt, G.M. 2012).

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In the context of liquid consumption, personal development classes and handcraft workshops may be favored as millennials show anyhow an interest for these services. For tourism services, the challenge I see would be to keep a place authentic and for a limited number of persons, in order not to become mainstream, and still have a profit. Will hotels be able to be part of this trend or they will lose in front of business models such as AIRBNB?

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Publication bibliography

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1. Bardhi, F. and Eckhardt, G.M. (2012): Access-Based Consumption. In Journal of Consumer Research Vol. 39 (No. 4), pp. 881–898.

2. Blythman, Joanna (2016): Can hipsters stomach the unpalatable truth about avocado toast? | Joanna Blythman. In The Guardian, 8/12/2016. Available online at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/12/hispters-handle-unpalatable-truth-avocado-toast, checked on 26-Mar-20.

3. Chapman, Ben (2018): Homeownership falls more in the UK than any other EU country. In The Independent, 8/21/2018. Available online at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/uk-home-ownership-falls-more-than-eu-country-france-poland-property-market-a8501836.html, checked on 25-Mar-20.

4. Chua, Trudy Hui Hui; Chang, Leanne (2016): Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. In Computers in Human Behavior 55, pp. 190–197. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011.

5. Currid-Halkett, E. (2017): The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class. In Princeton: Princeton University Press.

6. Eckhardt, Giana M.; Bardhi, Fleura (2020): New dynamics of social status and distinction. In Marketing Theory 20 (1), pp. 85–102. DOI: 10.1177/1470593119856650.

7. Edwards, Jim (2019): Carpocalypse: We're already in the endgame for cars - Business Insider. In Business Insider, 3/3/2019. Available online at https://www.businessinsider.com/carpocalypse-cars-automobile-sales-data-us-europe-2019-3?r=DE&IR=T, checked on 25-Mar-20.

8. Hamish Mackay (2018): How much do Instagram influencers earn? In BBC News, 10/3/2018. Available online at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45735861, checked on 25-Mar-20.

9. Keinan, A. and Kivetz, R. (2010): Productivity Orientation and the Consumption of Collectable Experiences. In Journal of Consumer Research Vol. 37, (No. 6), pp. 935–950, checked on 25-March-2020.

10. Longman Dictionary (25-Mar-20): freelance | meaning of freelance in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE. Available online at https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/freelance, updated on 25-Mar-20, checked on 25-Mar-20.

11. Ocejo, R. E. (2017): Masters of Craft: Old Jobs in the New Urban Economy. In New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

12. Pitcan, M., Marwick, A.E. and Boyd, D. (2018): Performing a Vanilla Self: Respectability Politics, Social Class, and the Digital World. In Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Vol.23 (No. 3), pp. 163–179.

13. Rokka Joonas; Canniford Robin (2016): Heterotopian selfies: how social media destabilizes brand assemblages. In European Journal of Marketing 50 (9/10), pp. 1789–1813. DOI: 10.1108/EJM-08-2015-0517.

14. Schimd, Dennis: Home ownership rate in Austria 2008-2017. statista.com. 2018. Available online at https://www.statista.com/statistics/543419/house-owners-among-population-austria/, checked on 25-March-2020.

15. Schimd, Dennis (2018a): Home ownership rat in Denmark 2008-2017. statista.com. Available online at https://www.statista.com/statistics/543377/house-owners-among-population-denmark/, checked on 25-March-2020.

16. Schimd, Dennis (2018b): Home ownership rate in Spain from 2008 to 2017. statista.com. Available online at https://www.statista.com/statistics/543390/house-owners-among-population-spain/, checked on 25-March-2020.

17. upwork.com (25-Mar-20): Freelance Jobs. Available online at https://www.upwork.com/freelance-jobs/, updated on 25-Mar-20, checked on 25-Mar-20.

18. Veblen T (1899/1994): The Theory of Leisure Class. In Dover Dover Editions.

19. Weinberger, M.F., Zavisca, J.R. and Silva, J.M. (2017): Consuming for an Imagined Future: Middle-Class Consumer Lifestyle and Exploratory Experiences in the Transition to Adulthood. In Journal of Consumer Research Vol. 44 (No. 2), pp. 332–360.

20. Weiss, Yoram; Fershtman, Chaim (1998): Social status and economic performance:: A survey. In European Economic Review 42 (3), pp. 801–820. DOI: 10.1016/S0014-2921(97)00137-2.