符号消费理论下Z世代电商购物行为研究

A Study on the E-Commerce Shopping Behavior of Generation Z from the Perspective of Symbolic Consumption Theory

摘要: 本文聚焦于Z世代在符号消费理论下的电商购物行为，探讨其特点、动因、面临的问题及启示。随着社会从物质消费向符号消费转型，Z世代作为互联网原住民和消费主力军，其消费行为呈现出圈层化、情感驱动和社交货币属性等特征。他们通过消费特定符号商品融入亚文化圈层，构建身份认同；消费决策受情感因素驱动，追求“情价比”；同时，消费行为具有社交货币属性，能转化为社交资本并强化群体认同。然而，Z世代在消费中也面临信息过载下的选择焦虑、信任危机以及符号价值与实用价值的冲突等问题，如算法茧房困境、符号溢价陷阱和自我认同危机。本文建议通过平台机制创新、政策柔性规制与消费者反思性提升的多主体协同路径，以期使符号消费回归意义自洽，并为电商生态良性发展提供理论参照。

Abstract: This paper centers on the e-commerce shopping behaviors of Generation Z within the framework of semiotic consumption theory, exploring their characteristics, driving factors, challenges, and implications. As society shifts from material consumption to semiotic consumption, Generation Z, being digital natives and a dominant consumer force, exhibits unique consumption patterns such as cultural tribalization, emotion-driven decisions, and treating consumption as social currency. They consume specific symbolic goods to integrate into subcultural tribes and shape their identity; their purchasing decisions are motivated by emotional factors, seeking “value for emotion”; and their consumption behaviors serve as social currency, transforming into social capital and strengthening group identity. Nevertheless, Generation Z encounters issues in consumption, such as choice paralysis from information overload, trust crises, and conflicts between symbolic and practical value, like the dilemmas of algorithmic filter bubbles, symbolic value premium traps, and identity crises. This paper advocates a polycentric, multi-stakeholder pathway that combines platform-level mechanism innovation, policy-oriented soft regulation, and the cultivation of consumer reflexivity. By synergistically realigning these forces, symbolic consumption can be steered back toward semantic coherence, thereby furnishing a theoretical benchmark for the virtuous development of the e-commerce ecosystem.