Daydreams and consumption. The imaginative qualities of goods and the demand for lottery tickets

What factors determine demand for consumer goods? Using the demand for lottery tickets as an example, the article discusses the imaginative quality of goods. According to Campbell (1987), consumption is explained from the consumer's attempt to realize fantasies stemming from socially constructed daydreams. On the basis of survey data, the study shows that lottery players who have daydreams and fantasies on winning large amounts of money spend more money for tickets and play more regularly. From this perspective, demand for lotteries is explained by its potential to create and maintain dream worlds which players find enjoyable to indulge in. With the ticket, lottery players buy an imagined dream on what to do with large amounts of money and on how this would transform their lives. Concluding the article possible applications of study beyond issues of consumption.