Word of mouth: products, conversations and consumption

Abstract

While there is a rich collection of studies of consumption and identity, the role of buying practices in ordinary conversations has been largely neglected. Minor items and major purchases regularly play a key role in furnishing our talk with topics, news, jokes and formulations of what kind of people we are. This paper unpacks the idea of post-purchase conversations contained within the common phrase “word of mouth.” What happens when products are examined in ordinary talk is pursued through the close analysis of a series of conversations around a significant purchase (a mountain bike). Drawing on the work of Harvey Sacks, and conversation analysis more broadly, this paper documents how products as a topic provide not only resources for small talk, but also an opportunity to consider our identity and its transformation. In conclusion, this paper argues that the knowledge and experience that circulate outside of the actual marketplace or point of purchase are part of a domain of economics as ordinary practice.

Keywords:

• conversation analysis
• ethnography
• word of mouth
• post purchase
• product talk
• shopping