Chronic Consumer Liminality:
Being Flexible in Precarious
Times
LAETITIA MIMOUN
FLEURA BARDHI
Presented by Anu Lall FPM 2023
What is Liminality?
Liminality refers to the ambivalence, confusion, or
disorientation experienced in the middle stage of a rite of
passage.
When someone no longer holds their pre-ritual status, and
have not yet begun transition to the status they will hold at
the end of the ritual / activity
McAlexander et al. 2014; Schau, Gilly, and Wolfinbarger 2009; Schouten 1991; Turner 1969; Van
Gennep 1909/1960)
What is Chronic Customer Liminality
(CCL)?
• Continuous state of transition experienced by individuals in
various aspects of their lives, including work, housing, and
relationships.
• Embrace Constant flux and instability, an opportunity for
personal growth and self-transformation, rather than a threat.
• Normalizing and celebrating transitions.
• Flexible consumers prioritize variety-seeking over routine
choices
• Engage in access-based consumption
Chronic Consumer Liminality: Being Flexible in Precarious Times
• Value productivity in their free time. [Link]
CCL in
Context
CCL Avatar : Skills
• Resilient optimism
• Adaptability, and
• Self-preservation
• These skills help CCL consumers
maintain a positive outlook, adapt to
changing circumstances, and prioritize
their own well-being.
Application in Marketing
The concept of liminality has been used by consumer
researchers to examine consumption-related phenomena
associated with ambiguous transitions and meaningful
transformative events.
Conceptual associations between liminality and consumption:
1. Liminal products
2. Liminal consumption
3. Consumption-caused liminality, and
4. Liminality-caused consumption
Chronic Consumer Liminality: Being Flexible in Precarious Times
[Link]
CCL application in industry
Sharing economy services, circular economy initiatives, travel
and hospitality, subscription, retail, wellness and coaching
services - need to understand CCL and its impact on
consumer behavior.
Managing CCL : 3 Navigation
processes
1. Firstly, consumption routines are destabilized, allowing for
fluidity and adaptability.
2. Secondly, consumption itself becomes more liquid, with
consumers seeking out scalable infrastructure and
minimizing possessions.
3. Lastly, control over time and money is asserted to ensure a
sense of stability amidst ongoing transitions.
Chronic Consumer Liminality: Being Flexible in Precarious Times
[Link]
Research Method
3 qualitative methods
1. Long interviews
2. Archival analysis of news media, and
3. Participant observation
Triangulate and assess the lifestyle’s essence beyond country
specificities (e.g., cultural norms), data collected from Paris
and London.
Chronic Consumer Liminality: Being Flexible in Precarious Times
[Link]
Personal reflection and Research Gaps
1. I understood how to do thematic text-based analysis of
interviews.
2. Individuals with CCL have a perpetual sense of longing,
persistent dissatisfaction. The study is not designed to
capture that.
3. Paper does not cover enough of fluid identity of CCL
individuals
4. Heightened Social Comparison: Social media marketing and
curation of experiences.
Challenges in Marketing : My take
1. Inconsistent Behavior: CCL individuals exhibit inconsistent behaviors, from a traditional
marketing perspective. Responses to marketing efforts could be unpredictable, which is a
challenge to design effective campaigns
2. Limited Data: Liminality is not be well-represented in traditional data sources.
3. Identification and Timing:. Marketers need to develop strategies to accurately detect when
consumers are transitioning between states.
4. Measurement and Attribution: Determining the effectiveness of marketing efforts targeted
at liminal consumers can be challenging.
5. Failure of Generic Messaging: Crafting messaging that resonates with consumers in liminal
stages requires a deep understanding of their mindset and emotions.
6. Long-Term Engagement: Eclectic and varied consumption patterns, experimentation,
experiences, lack of consistency in preferences and behaviors. How to create long-term
brand engagement, with someone who shifts every 6 months?
7. Challenges for religious and political marketing
