It's a label.
I suppose people use it to define behavior, a preference towards material things.
I've actually thought of this for a while.
People perceive objects differently, therefor there will be a multitude of perspectives and "relationships" with objects.
If objects make us feel better, we buy more, otherwise we don't...obviously.
You feel something when you buy something new, you're somewhat excited, I can't define that feeling.
Buying things causes addiction...so the pleasure "materialistic" people experience from the objects must be pretty intense...otherwise...they wouldn't get ADDICTED to buying shit.
You can also spend your money on experiencing new things, which is far more interesting, you can go places, you can do a lot of stuff. You don't have to buy a bigger tv.