Consumer Perceptions of Iconicity and Indexicality and Their Influence on Assessments of Authentic Market Offerings

Aug 30, 2026

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Although consumer research frequently invokes “authenticity,” the term remains underspecified, leaving key distinctions among authentic market offerings underexamined. This article applies Peirce’s semiotic framework to separate authenticity into indexical and iconic forms. It identifies the cues that consumers use for each form and, using data from two tourist attractions, shows that these cues yield different effects on the perceived benefits of consuming authenticity. Results also clarify how consumers negotiate reality and fantasy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatDOCX

Pages38

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Authenticity as a Market Concept

Semiotic Distinctions: Indexical vs Iconic Authenticity

Consumer Cues and Their Effects

Negotiating Reality and Fantasy in Consumption

Consumer Perceptions of Iconicity and Indexicality and Their Influence on Assessments of Authentic Market Offerings HYPERLINK "javascript:;" Kent Grayson, HYPERLINK "javascript:;" Radan Martinec HYPERLINK "javascript:;" Author Notes Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 31, Issue 2, September 2004, Pages 296–312, HYPERLINK "https://doi.org/10.1086/422109" https://doi.org/10.1086/422109 Published: 01 September 2004 Abstract Although consumer demand for authentic market offerings has often been mentioned in consumer research, the meaning of the term “authentic” has not been sufficiently specified. Thus, some important differences among authentic market offerings have not been recognized or examined. This article uses Peirce's semiotic framework to distinguish between two kinds of authenticity—indexical and iconic. We identify the cues that lead to the assessment of each kind, and, based on data collected at two tourist attractions, we show that these cues can have a different influence on the benefits of consuming authenticity. Our results also contribute to an understanding of the negotiation of reality and fantasy as a part of consumption. Consumer demand for authenticity has existed for hundreds of years. For example, from the ninth to the eleventh centuries, interest in authentic religious relics in Europe helped to generate significant retail and tourism revenues (Phillips HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1997). And, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, diversity in consumer standards for authenticity in China created a flourishing market for luxury goods (Clunas HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1992). Demand for authenticity persists today and is reflected in the purchase of a wide variety of market offerings, including travel souvenirs (Harkin HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1995), ethnic food (Lu and Fine HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1995), tickets to historical reconstructions (Handler and Gable HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1997), and original art (Bentor HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1993)—not to mention more conventional consumer goods and services such as athletic shoes and brokerage advice (Goldman and Papson HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1996). In fact, Brown ( HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 2001) argues that one of modern marketing's central themes is the tension between authenticity and inauthenticity. During the last century, this tension has been intensified by technological advances, which have facilitated the effective simulation of authenticity (Benjamin HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1969; Halliday HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 2001; Orvell HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1989). But, as an Adweek columnist recently noted, despite “all the attempts to fake it as a marketing ploy,” the “appeal of authenticity seems oddly undiminished” (Dolliver HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 2001, p. 19). In light of authenticity's long-standing, persistent, and contemporary marketplace appeal, it is a potentially significant and interesting topic for consumer researchers. Many scholars outside of marketing and consumer research agree that authenticity is an important topic for study. Authenticity has been the focus of several influential works over the past several decades (Anderson HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1990; Baudrillard HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1983; Benjamin HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1969; Boorstin HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1987; Goodman HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1976; MacCannell HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1999; Trilling HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1972) and has been identified by a number of scholars as a pivotal attribute of contemporary life. For example, Lowenthal ( HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1992, p. 184) suggests that “the cult of authenticity pervades modern life,” and Jacknis ( HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1990, p. 9) says that “authenticity is a general preoccupation of modern western culture.” Similarly, MacCannell ( HYPERLINK "javascript:;" 1999, p. 145) calls the dialectics of authen

FAQs

Why does the article argue that “authentic” is not well understood in consumer research?

The article notes that although authenticity is commonly mentioned, the meaning of “authentic” has not been sufficiently specified, so important differences among authentic market offerings have not been recognized or examined.

How does the article define two kinds of authenticity?

Using Peirce’s semiotic framework, the article distinguishes authenticity into indexical and iconic forms and focuses on the cues that consumers use to assess each kind.

What do the results from two tourist attractions show?

The results indicate that the cues associated with indexical and iconic authenticity can influence the benefits consumers derive from authenticity in different ways.

Aug 30, 2026

Upload by Aurelia