Dress to Impress Digitally: Social Anxiety And Status Motivation Are Associated With Higher Spending on Digital Cosmetics Among Cosmetic Purchasers

Cosmetic items have become one of the most profitable monetization strategies in games. Like fashion in the physical world, their value is socially constructed and tied to visibility, prestige, and identity signalling. This raises questions about whether psychological factors influence cosmetic spending behaviour. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 199 in-game cosmetic purchasers. We assessed trait social anxiety, avatar and self-perception, actual spending for cosmetics, Big Five personality traits, and cosmetic purchase motivation. Through structural equation modelling, we found that, among cosmetic purchasers, trait social anxiety and status motivation showed the strongest association with spending amounts, with reward motives playing a secondary role. However, qualitative findings focused more on aesthetic appeal and economic considerations as primary stated motives, while social and community influences were less central. These findings suggest that individual psychological differences may warrant important design consideration for in-game cosmetics highlighting the multi-layered influences on previous purchase decisions.