帝王会所

Bear Breakdown is an ongoing series where university experts share clear, thoughtful insights on today鈥檚 most talked-about issues. Each article connects headline news to real-world impact, helping readers better understand what鈥檚 happening and why it matters, while adding valuable context and sparking meaningful conversation for audiences of all backgrounds.

Do you own a ? How about a Labubu doll? A pair of Crocs? 

If the answer to any of those questions was 鈥測es,鈥� it might be, in part, due to the United States鈥� fundamental ties to consumerism and consumer culture. 

(See , , , among others, for past examples of merchandise crazes.)

From shows like 鈥淢ad Men鈥� popularizing the infectious nature of advertising to ever-changing trends and crazes surrounding currently-popular products, the desire to engage in some old-fashioned retail therapy is nearly unavoidable in modern society. 

But where do popular trends get their start? How long has consumer culture been around in the United States? And where is consumerism headed in the future? 

Faculty from the University of Northern Colorado鈥檚 Marketing, History, Sociology and Geography, GIS and Sustainability departments shared their insights into the popularity of particular product purchasing in America and beyond.

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• A Historical Perspective

  Quotes from Aaron Haberman, Ph.D., department chair and professor of History in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

  • What is consumerism/consumer culture?

    Consumerism is connected with the idea of consumption, which is the act of people in society purchasing goods and services. 鈥淕oods and services鈥� can be broadly defined to mean things like a house, a car, food, et cetera. But it can also mean things like content 鈥� shows, music, movies.

    So then a consumer culture is really found in the ways in which a society defines itself through that purchasing and consumption of goods and services.

    One way to think about it is to juxtapose the idea of consumerism against the idea of producerism.

    In a producerist culture, the act of producing or creating those goods and services is the key focus. And production and consumption go hand-in-hand. The society defines itself by what it does, primarily.

    In consumer society it's more about what you are able to consume and what you own. 

  • What is the history of consumerism in America?

    The growth of consumerism has been a long and slow-developing process. 

    To an extent,  America has always had elements of being a consumer culture 鈥� much of the settlement of what is now the United States was connected to economic development of Western European powers who were looking for raw materials that could fuel consumption in their own countries.

    There's been a lot of interesting work by historians like T.H. Breen, who have argued that consumerism was one of the things that helped bind American colonists together at the start of the American Revolution. The colonists were able to find common identity over the taxes they paid and the goods they consumed. 

    And there are other key moments throughout American history for the growth of consumerism. One was the late 19th century as we saw the development of the American industrial economy, which included mass production, factory labor and more sophisticated transportation for the things being made in the form of railroads.

    Another interesting factor to consider is the creation of things like the Sears Roebuck catalog, which allowed for Americans to have access to a colossal variety of goods without needing to travel to population centers or live in large cities like New York or Chicago. 

    In addition to the prolific, Mad Men-style advertising boom in the 1950s and 60s, the federal government also played a huge part in encouraging consumption post-World War II. Spending was pitched as patriotic 鈥� a way to boost the American economy and create jobs. The same was true after 9/11 鈥� there was concern that the attacks could drive down the economy, and so a lot of the messaging from President Bush and others in his administration told folks to spend money for economic strength and stability. 

    Finally, I think social media, celebrity culture and influencer culture have been a huge driver of these consumerist developments in recent years. The fact that anyone can become influential online with a large enough follower count has changed the game and resulted in our social media feeds often being inundated with even more advertising 鈥� whether it's directly the manufacturer or through influencer marketing.

  • Have trends like the Stanley cup craze of 2024 happened in the past? If so, why?

    Absolutely. 

    There are plenty of examples of similar crazes in the past. When the hula hoop exploded in popularity in the 1950s, it was a massive fad. It sold millions and was a huge product before it faded almost entirely.

    More recently, in the 1980s, Cabbage Patch dolls were a massive craze 鈥� to the point where people were getting into fights in the store because stores were running out of dolls right before Christmas.

    Beanie Babies were another one where again, these unusual items that didn't provide a lot of utilitarian value necessarily nevertheless caught on in mainstream culture. 

    That鈥檚 all to say that there is almost always some kind of fad going on. Sometimes, with the help of marketing and advertising, a perfect storm is created and we see huge trends rise, only to fall and fade into nostalgia items inevitably. 

  • What are your thoughts on the future of consumerism in America?

    It's hard to say, but I think the growing gap in wealth between different societal classes is significant. 

    One of the things I'm sort of noticing is just how, more and more, companies in the United States are making money by trying to double down on appealing to the wealthy. There are more premium services now in order to extract as much money as possible from the upper class 鈥� to the point that, in some areas, the middle and working classes are being priced out.

    Critics of consumerism bring up things like environmental damage from constant manufacturing, consumption and discarding of goods, as well as potential concerns around the financial benefits of consumerism tilting towards the wealthy.

    And in many ways, consumption like what we have today isn鈥檛 sustainable 鈥� if the gap between the rich and poor becomes too great, particularly if you have a shrinking middle class, the burden of keeping the economy going falls even more on the rich.

    It鈥檚 something that happened in the 1920s as a contributing factor to the Great Depression.

    At some point, there just won't be enough people who are able to consume to drive the economy. The U.S. does still produce goods and services, but nowhere near as much as it used to and with fewer people employed to do it.

    I think consumption patterns will be reshaped in some form, and of course the Trump tariffs are going to have a significant effect 鈥� even after he鈥檚 no longer president and those tariffs potentially come down, the damage to U.S. international relations has been done.

    I鈥檓 sure that high-level conversations are occurring between the European Union, Japan and other major trading partners to, if not cut the United States out completely, figure out a way where they will not be susceptible to these sorts of tariffs in the future.

    That could have all kinds of ripple effects for both the global economy and for the U.S. economy. 

  • How can people 鈥渟uccessfully鈥� navigate consumer society?

    The thing that jumps to my mind is that I think it's helpful for people to understand is that consumption is not just an economic act 鈥� it can be a political act too.

    People do have the power to sort of make a statement about their own values through what they choose to buy and consume.

    Throughout American history, social or political goals were aided by boycotts 鈥� think about the Montgomery bus boycotts that, in some ways, kicked off the modern African American Civil Rights Movement.

    Before the Civil War, a lot of abolitionists organized 鈥渇ree produce鈥� movements, where the idea was to try to certify what agricultural goods were produced without slave labor and to encourage people to only buy those.

    Most recently, when Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC/Disney, a bunch of people dropped their Disney+ subscriptions, and he was back on the air very shortly thereafter. There may be a number of factors that contributed to that, but it鈥檚 an example of people using their power as consumers to affect a bigger political and social change.

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• A Marketing Perspective

  Quotes from , Ph.D., professor of Marketing in the Monfort College of Business.

  • How is America, in particular, a consumer culture/society?

    In some ways, Americans are consumers by nature 鈥� if we have discretionary income, we tend to like to spend it. So, I think what consumer culture here in the U.S. is is that consumers, as part of the culture, are primed to spend money, and they do.

    Consumer culture is basically companies trying to keep the consumer spending. Even though we've been seeing an economic dip lately 鈥� jobs are shrinking and the economy is a little shaky 鈥� consumers are still spending strong.

    The consumer economy, understandably, depends on consumers. I'd say consumer culture in the U.S. revolves around the cycle of consumers wanting to spend. It's part of the U.S. way of life. 

    And companies want to keep people spending. There鈥檚 this constant pressure to keep personal consumption in the U.S. high, because people simply buy more stuff here than they do in Europe or China. So to keep the party rolling, so to speak, there鈥檚 a constant cycle that is upkept by marketing in the form of both paid and earned media.

    On a national scale, one of the reasons we have a huge trade deficit with China and other countries is because we buy a lot of stuff from them, and they buy less stuff from us. So there's this asymmetric flow of money that exists. 

    Right now, the U.S. is, in many ways, an engine that鈥檚 driving the global economy. We鈥檙e running a lot of deficits and we鈥檙e buying a lot of other country鈥檚 stuff. That, in and of itself, is evidence of a genuine consumption culture in the U.S. that other countries don鈥檛 really have. 

    But with the economy slowing down, spending for the bottom 50% of the income distribution spread has slowed markedly. 

    But spending is still very strong for the upper percentiles of the income bracket 鈥� people who have the money here spend it more than people in other countries. And so, there鈥檚 this cycle that companies play into to keep things rolling for them. 

  • What role does marketing play in consumer behavior?

    Marketing is sometimes misunderstood as advertising 鈥� that's what a lot of our students misunderstand marketing as. 

    But marketing is essentially identifying consumer segments and then positioning products in such a way as to appeal to those segments and then targeting them via the correct channels. 

    For instance, you can either do that by trying to make something go viral on social media or by communicating stuff to your followers or.

    By having referral programs, you can target consumers with search advertising, display advertising, social media advertising. You can target them with your organic posts on social media. You can target them with streaming TV ads, right? 

    Generally, the idea behind marketing is it's more than just advertising. It's really about understanding your customer segments, what motivates them and how to appeal to them. 

    A lot of this may seem accidental, like when the Stanley cups blew up. And sure, there was an instigating video that went viral, which served as free promotion, but marketing then took advantage of that by looking at the consumer segments it was appealing to and leveraging subsequent communications to boost brand awareness and popularity. 

    In that way, marketing is more holistic than one might think. It鈥檚 not just social media presence or coordinated advertising 鈥� although those things certainly play roles in it. It鈥檚 adaptive and ever-changing, something that depends on the situation and the audiences who are relevant to it. 

  • From a marketing perspective, how/why do trends like the Stanley cup craze of 2024 occur?

    To understand trends like these, I like to point to two things in particular. 

    The first is how well and effectively the product garners awareness. Typically, awareness is at the top of what we like to call the 鈥渕arketing funnel鈥� 鈥� before you can get people to buy a product, you have to make them aware of its existence. 

    This can come in the form of awareness campaigns, targeted advertising, collaborations with YouTube or other social media influencers and more. Going viral is the goal here 鈥� once people know your product is out there, they can begin to be pushed down the rest of the funnel. 

    With Stanley cups, that virality was a big part of their initial success. It started with this viral video of someone鈥檚 Stanley cup surviving a car fire, which gained a lot of views and was widely shared. It caused people to talk about it organically, spreading through word of mouth 鈥� something marketing can鈥檛 easily replicate. 

    From there, the Stanley marketing team jumped on the virality and worked to embrace that popularity. 

    The second thing I like to discuss when it comes to trends is something called social currency. 

    Think, for example, of sharing a video because it makes you look good. Maybe it鈥檚 a particularly funny video or one that is profound in some way. Sharing that with others can make you seem more interesting, funny, smart, et cetera. 

    If marketing for a product can take the form of a piece of content people want to share on their own, it鈥檚 a huge thing 鈥� although there鈥檚 no secret formula for making that happen, per se. 

    In addition to social currency, we also like to talk about normative social influence 鈥� basically, the desire to do the same thing as those around you; to fit in. When trends catch on, people can want to feel like a part of something bigger by participating in them. 

    There鈥檚 also social proof, which is essentially the social pressure to fit in. Like, if all your friends had a cell phone in school and you didn鈥檛, you probably wanted one so you didn鈥檛 feel like an outsider. Social media influencers can be a big part of creating both social influence and social proof, as well. 

    All these factors 鈥� viral and social 鈥� combine to culminate in a product kicking off a trend or craze. That said, we still aren鈥檛 entirely sure why certain things blow up or take off the way they do. These things I鈥檝e talked about explain maybe 20% of why something takes off, but there are a gazillion other reasons that are incredibly difficult to quantify. 

  • What are your thoughts on the future of consumerism in America?

    For one thing, I think artificial intelligence (AI) is going to flip the script in ways that we can鈥檛 yet fully understand. 

    It鈥檚 already impacting marketing through content writing, graphic design, ad targeting and more. So when people engage with content or advertising online, more and more, they might assume those things are AI generated. I think that鈥檚 going to lead to more confusion. 

    For example, we鈥檙e already seeing a huge uptick of bots online, some in the form of bots posing as influencers. This can end up scrambling messaging and causing people to not really know what to pay attention to. 

    We鈥檙e going to see AI agents driving a lot of online conversation in the future 鈥� something that will not only impact consumption, but bigger issues like politics as well. 

    I've heard people make predictions that AI is actually going to make us less online, because there's going to be so much unverifiable, untrustworthy stuff on the internet. That's definitely something that I think the media companies are trying to prepare for. If you鈥檙e running a marketing campaign, having concrete, standard messaging across all channels is a lot harder to do in a landscape with so much noise going on. 

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• A Sociological Perspective

  Quotes from Kyle Anne Nelson, Ph.D., professor of Sociology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

  • What is consumerism/consumer culture?

    In a consumer society, we focus on meeting basic needs 鈥� housing, food, security 鈥� primarily in the private market, but we also focus on buying and selling items and services that do not meet basic needs. 

    We place value on material items and services that are perhaps not necessary, or that come at a price that we wouldn't have to pay in a sustainable economy; but we want them, so they have value beyond their tangible worth.

    Here in the U.S., we prioritize our individual spending culture and we love it, but often at the expense of some of those key sustainability areas like health care or retirement savings.

    Something sociologists often bring attention to are the choices people make without consciously thinking about them. When you do that, you might realize that, 鈥渙h, maybe 50 types of deodorant to choose from is more than I really need.鈥� 

    Stopping and thinking about the choices we make as a society is important, because there鈥檚 a concept called 鈥渃reation of need鈥� that touches on how we can often be made to feel like we need something when we really don鈥檛 鈥� we don't literally need a lot of different items that we demand, like Halloween displays or Labubus. But there are videos and other examples of people out there who say, 鈥渘o, I do need these things. They bring me joy.鈥� 

    In that regard, the creation of need is great from an entrepreneurial, capitalistic standpoint. When we feel like we need something, that ties into work culture, because we can鈥檛 pay for any of these products without a job to provide spendable income. The two things are fundamentally intertwined, but we don鈥檛 always see them that way.

  • How does consumerism/consumption influence our popular culture?

    Pop culture encompasses a lot of different things. Often, we think of television and online social media, but pop culture is also mainstream images and messages that we all share 鈥� things we say, like 鈥�6-7鈥� or trends that we follow. 

    Even me wearing my University of Northern Colorado hoodie is a pop culture expression鈥攊t鈥檚 support for 帝王会所 and my expression of my identity as being someone proud to work at 帝王会所. A lot of times, people in consumer cultures are focused on not just items but the name brands and the representation of status. It鈥檚 about self-fulfilling a desire, often associated with how we want to see ourselves or how we want to portray ourselves. We use products to affiliate ourselves with a certain kind of person or a certain status group.

    For things like Stanley cups, while they do serve a function as a water bottle, it鈥檚 about more than that. We see folks replacing water bottles for new colors or different designs or the latest brand, but there is not an added value to that new bottle that is equivalent to the actual dollars spent. Sure, these bottles may be high quality, but more than that, they鈥檙e popular.

    Pop culture not only looks at the messages we鈥檙e consuming, but how we鈥檙e sharing and reinforcing them, too. When things get popular, like Labubus, we can look at them and understand how and why they might be popular 鈥� they鈥檙e connecting people, making them feel a sense of joy and belonging, even though they aren鈥檛 fulfilling a basic human need. 

    And those feelings are real. My son is in 8th grade, and he was telling me the other day that a kid was made fun of for having fake Nike shoes and this boy has never worn those shoes since. Feelings of seeing a name brand and identifying with that give us a sense of worthiness, and, conversely, a lack of certain things can make us feel ostracized.

  • How do trends/crazes like the Stanley cup happen?

    For context, I'm a pop culture consumer and I love it; I teach a course on the sociology of pop culture because it's a passion of mine.

    I also teach a lot about inequality, social stratification, race and immigration. So from a stratification context, it's important to think about why people are spending money on things they really don鈥檛 need.

    When we think about the purpose that these objects and services are serving, it brings up a sociological theory called symbolic interactionalism. Humans, as a species, are inherently social. To be alone is quantifiably bad for our mental and physical health. This drives us to seek interactions and engagement with others.

    In essence, we want to belong. So buying a specific, identifiable product or having the latest manicure or fitness training session can be seen as a public expression to connect with others. We may be displaying one value or another and can connect one with others who have also purchased that product or service or who associate with the values it embodies. And sure, it can be troublesome if certain aspects of that bonding element are off-putting to others.

    When crazes like the Labubu trend or, less recently, Beanie Babies, happen, they can often feel like flashes in the pan, but still be influential despite their short-lived nature. In the moment, they can be incredibly impactful for individual people鈥檚 sense of belonging and happiness.

    Is it a good long-term solution to our stress in life to essentially throw money away on trendy items or experiences? Potentially not. But it鈥檚 better than buying something like a pack of cigarettes, and it can have genuine, tangible effects on people鈥檚 lives.

  • How can people 鈥渟uccessfully鈥� navigate consumer culture/society?

    One thing we can do is to embrace the power of the dollar by voting with our purchases. We can say, 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to eat at that restaurant because I don鈥檛 like the political donations the corporation who owns it makes鈥� or 鈥淚 am going to buy this shoe because I know the brand donates shoes to those who need them.鈥� 

    Social entrepreneurship has been very interesting 鈥� companies and individuals are creating products and services, but also giving back in some way or conveying a message that is in some way ethical or valuable. Consumers demanding ethical standards is something I鈥檒l be interested to see the impacts of in the future.  

    Companies might start to realize that it鈥檚 a great way to get new customers if they donate to certain causes, regardless of whether they really care for the cause or not. 

    So in that way, we really can vote with our dollars 鈥� there's power in that and thinking about where your money is going and if you're happy with that result. 

    In addition to that, more and more, I think we鈥檙e seeing that, as a society, we鈥檙e focusing on spending our time and money in ways that we want for a deeper quality of life. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and amidst persistent inflation woes, the push for a hustle culture is lessening, and we鈥檙e shifting towards hopefully being more authentic and kinder to ourselves. 

    Would a new car be nice versus the reliable, years-old basic one I drive? Yes. But I also need a good night鈥檚 sleep and to put money into my savings account. I think young people are more aware of that balance than ever.

  • What are your thoughts on the future of consumerism in America/the world?

    I鈥檒l be interested to see how the idea of, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to make a profit, but I鈥檓 going to do it in an ethical way鈥� unfolds. I think that鈥檚 the thing that will keep us shopping. 

    We鈥檙e so polarized now on both sides of the aisle 鈥� it鈥檚 wild to think that a baseball cap is the symbol of a sitting American president, and that people spend money on those hats as a pop culture item. 

    That aside, I do think we鈥檒l see a lot more social/ethical entrepreneurship take root. Giving folks a product to buy that they can feel good about and still walk away with a shiny, new thing to own. 

    That鈥檚 talking from a middle-class perspective, though. From the perspective of the large population of working poor in the United States, things are very different. Something like 60% of all Americans will, at one point, spend a year in extreme poverty. And that means as a whole, we鈥檙e very economically vulnerable. 

    Placing more of an emphasis on financial literacy in addition to 鈥渉aving fun鈥� with our money is the real lesson we should take away from this. Because if a $400 emergency would put the majority of Americans into debt immediately, that鈥檚 where our focus needs to be 鈥� basic needs over frivolous spending. 

    Now, will that be where the emphasis is placed in popular culture? In all likelihood, no. But it鈥檚 not just an issue we can ignore, or the consequences are bound to show themselves sooner or later. 

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• A Sustainability Perspective

  Quotes from Karen Barton, Ph.D., professor of Geography, GIS and Sustainability in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

  • What is consumerism/consumer culture?

    Consumerism is the idea that happiness and identity come from what we buy, and that the next purchase or upgrade will finally make us feel fulfilled. 

    Consumer culture reinforces this by encouraging us to want more, newer and better, instead of appreciating what we already have. The book Subtract by Leidy Klotz speaks directly to this, showing how we tend to assume that adding things equals progress, when in reality, choosing less can create more meaning, ease and intention in our lives. 

    Consumer culture makes 鈥渕ore鈥� feel normal. Learning to pause and consider 鈥渆nough鈥� is often where real satisfaction begins.

  • What impacts can overconsumption have on nature and the environment?

    The impacts are enormous, although many of us do not see them firsthand. 

    When we take students to the Larimer County Landfill, the scale of waste is overwhelming. Entire hills of discarded objects pile up, many of them barely used. It has brought students to tears. And when we worked on a garbage barge on the Mississippi River, we could fill a whole bag of plastic bottles in just a few minutes, step two feet to the side, and fill another. More would return by the next year. 

    The scale of plastic pollution is staggering. Experiential learning allows people to see the consequences of consumption instead of imagining them, and once you see it, it changes you.

    Many products today are designed to be temporary or disposable, and convenience culture teaches us to replace rather than repair. 

    Marketing fuels the feeling that we should always want the next new thing, and because our waste disappears from view, it is easy to assume it disappears altogether. 

    But it doesn鈥檛, of course. Much of it is exported to other countries to be sorted, processed, or burned, shifting the burden of our consumption onto communities that did not benefit from it. And even when waste is not exported, ocean currents carry plastic across coastlines, landing on shorelines in places like Senegal.

    Our choices do not end at the trash can. They continue outward, often much farther than we realize.

    We all know the phrase 鈥淩educe, Reuse, Recycle,鈥� but we rarely follow it in the correct order. Reduce comes first because the most sustainable item is the one we never needed to buy.

  • What happens to trend-based items (Stanley cups, Labubu dolls, Beanie Babies, etc.) once the crazes fade?

    When the initial excitement fades, we often lose interest in the item. The object rarely provides lasting fulfillment or identity, because our deeper needs are met through relationships and experiences, not possessions. 

    As a result, many trend-driven items are quickly set aside. Within six months, you can usually find them in thrift stores, donation centers, or storage bins. The emotional value is short-lived, while the physical object, especially if it is made of plastic, remains for years or even forever.

    Producing, transporting and packaging millions of trend-driven items requires energy and resources. When these items are valued for only a short time, their environmental footprint lasts far longer than their moment of popularity.

  • What might the future of consumerism look like for America?

    We are at a turning point. 
    If consumption continues at its current pace, waste and environmental harm will increase, often affecting communities far from where the consumption takes place. 
    But there is also a growing movement toward repairing what we own 鈥� borrowing instead of buying 鈥� and taking pride in making things last. The more people see the real scale of waste, whether in landfills, rivers or coastlines, the more likely we are to redefine what 鈥渆nough鈥� means. Awareness leads to different habits, and those habits can reshape culture.
    A helpful way to think about it is to truly follow the order: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 
    Reducing what we buy has the greatest impact. Reusing what we already have can also be enjoyable. Thrift stores and yard sales are like treasure hunts, and what you need is almost always already available. 
    And this is not about guilt. It is about awareness and agency. When we understand where our belongings come from and where they go, we naturally begin to make different choices. Experiential learning does more than inform. It changes perspective. Once we see clearly, we do not return to consuming blindly.