The Price of Influence: Social Media Influencers and Compensatory Consumption Among Bottom‐of‐the‐Pyramid (BOP) Consumers

ABSTRACT Social media has become an integral part of the lives of BOP consumers. While research has examined the role of influencers in shaping consumer decision‐making among mainstream consumers, little is known about how they affect vulnerable BOP populations. In BOP contexts where material deprivation and aspiration coexist, this study shifts the focus from persuasion outcomes to the psychological mechanisms that shape compensatory responses to influencer exposure. Drawing on self‐discrepancy, social comparison, and the need for affiliation theories, we propose that exposure to macro‐influencers, perceived as aspirational, elicits upward social comparisons, heightening self‐discrepancies and activating affiliation motives, culminating in conspicuous consumption as a form of symbolic self‐restoration and perceived social inclusion. By contrast, micro‐influencers, with lower aspirational distance, are less likely to trigger such responses. Thus, our study investigates whether and how exposure to different influencers—macro versus micro—affects BOP consumers' compensatory consumption. Our findings across five experimental studies reveal that macro‐influencer exposure triggers conspicuous responses relative to micro‐influencer or no exposure. We identify a serial mediation pathway (influencer exposure → social comparison → affiliation → consumption) and draw on the buffering hypothesis to demonstrate that online bonding social capital moderates these effects. This study contributes to the literature on compensatory consumption, influencer marketing, and BOP and offers strategic guidance for marketers in influencer selection and ethical implications for engaging with digitally connected vulnerable consumers.