Toward a Better Understanding of Minimalistic Motives: Consumption Typology, Scale Development, and Validation

ABSTRACT Recent research has acknowledged that a large and growing number of consumers worldwide have adopted a minimalistic philosophy and engaged in minimalistic consumption. However, extant research has generally grouped all minimalists together, thus limiting the theoretical and practical relevance of minimalism to the field of marketing. In delving deeper into prior work, it can be posited that minimalism, despite its overall focus on simplification, takes various forms driven by different motivations. We critically analyze prior conceptualizations of minimalism using a multi‐method approach to develop and validate a scale that captures different types of motivations driving minimalistic consumption. The scale enables researchers and practitioners to better understand minimalism, measure minimalistic consumption for each unique minimalistic consumption motivation, and tailor their approaches to appeal to different types of minimalistic consumers.