Geoffery Miller in his recent book Spent-Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behaviour proposes that consumerism is an evolutionary concept. All animals have a tendency to show to show off and try to attract the opposite sex for mating by doing so. The same tendency is displayed by the human beings when they buy the most expensive and impressive consumer goods they can afford. That is extension of the show off tendency. In social groups in the evolution process, image and status mattered. That was necessary for survival as well as for attracting mates, impressing friends, and rearing children.

According to Geoffery Miller, many products are signals first, and material objects later. A Hummer H 1 Alpha sport utility vehicle is not a good rational buy for the price paid. Yet, some people feel the need to buy it, and biology offers an answer.

In experiments, it was seen that men went in for conspicuous consumption when interested in mating whereas women think of conspicuous charity.

Physical appearance, especially facial appearance, is used as indicator of fertility in most primate species. Cosmetics do extend this fertility even while ageing. Later, after meeting people, we judge them on other traits, e.g. intelli -gence, kindness, faithfulness etc. We then consider products such as an IIT or IIM degree, and donations to animal welfare funds.

If a company wants to make a decent profit, its product must have special signalling value beyond its nominal function.