Aesthetic Products and Aesthetic Consumption: A Review

Abstract

This article presents a review of recent thinking about consumers’ aesthetic experiences. These experiences are examined within the context of philosophical, psychological, and social science perspectives on aesthetics. A distinction is made between aesthetic products and aesthetic consumption, and these two concepts are discussed in terms of marketing views of their core elements. The review also reflects on the impact of “postmodernism” on aesthetics within marketing. Consideration is given to four philosophical conundrums relating to the aesthetic experience which are relevant to marketing theory: disinterested attention; objective and subjective taste; the nature of the aesthetic encounter; and the relationship of evaluation to preference.