Coffee Shop Culture and Symbolic Consumption: Consumer Meanings Behind Lifestyle-Based Purchasing in Makassar

Abstract

The rapid growth of coffee shops in Makassar has transformed café visits from a functional activity into a lifestyle and identity expression, particularly among millennial and Gen-Z consumers. This phenomenon is important to understand as cafés increasingly serve as spaces for social interaction, self-presentation, and cultural aspiration. However, previous studies in Indonesia have primarily focused on service quality and customer satisfaction, with limited attention to the symbolic and socio-cultural meanings of café consumption. This study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach involving in-depth interviews with 18 consumers, participant observation in six cafés, and netnographic analysis of 1,240 Instagram posts. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed five key themes: aesthetic capital, identity construction, status signalling, community belonging, and workation culture. These results indicate that consumers use café environments to express identity, build social capital, and project aspirational lifestyles. The study concludes that coffee shop patronage in Makassar represents a form of symbolic consumption that extends beyond beverage consumption, offering implications for café marketing and customer experience strategies.