Hedonics vs Utilitarian

I chose two different products, products that I can closely relate to and elaborate on, in order to describe the ideas of utilitarian and hedonic needs. Both of the products I have chosen are products that satisfy my personal preference in both of these categories: utilitarian and hedonic products. Since I’m an Associate Gallery Director for an art company known as The Wentworth Art Gallery I thought it would be appropriate to choose art as my product of choice to describe hedonic needs. Hedonic goods tend to be luxurious items that that are desired by the consumer but not necessarily essential for the consumer unlike that of a utilitarian product. The consumer when buying a hedonic product will usually be motivated by feelings of “pleasure, fun, and enjoyment”. Since these feelings arise the consumer is more likely to spend more money on a luxury hedonic item, in this case artwork, over that of a utilitarian product. A hedonic item is usually not purchased very frequently and consumers can rationale that these products are more enjoyable. At the gallery I witness hedonic purchases every day and I can clearly see that hedonic needs are “subjective and experiential”; here consumers look to fill needs of excitement, self-confidence, and fantasy that can take them away from the repetitious routine of everyday life. I’ve noticed that the feeling of guilt can be associated with hedonic purchases in that the goods that are purchased are being bought for means that are associated with pleasure and excess, not items that are for daily life and therefore are harder to justify buying than utilitarian items.