The Effect Of Experiential Consumption And Material Consumption On Happiness And Its Underlying Mechanism

Consumption is related to people's well-being.In order to better meet residents' consumption needs and improve their life quality,it is of great necessity for new consumption to play a leading role.How to promote consumers' happiness via consumption is a hot issue that scholars are currently concerned about.Studies have found that different consumption types have different effects on consumers' happiness,but their underlying mechanisms are not yet clear.An in-depth study on the relationship between consumption types and happiness and their underlying mechanisms will not only help to clarify the relationship between consumption types and happiness,but also help to build a happy and harmonious society that promotes consumption to enhance people's happiness.Consumption can be divided into experiential consumption and material consumption.Past studies have explored the relationship between consumption types and happiness and found that experiential consumption leads to more happiness.From the perspective of savoring,this research further explored the relationship between consumption types and happiness.In this research,we dig deeper into the phenomenon of "experience first",using questionnaires and experimental methods to explore the influence of different consumption types on hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being,as well as the mediating role of savoring and the moderating role of materialism.This article examines these issues via 3 studies.Study 1 used imagination priming to initiate experiential consumption and material consumption,and then measures their influences on savoring and happiness(hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being).The results showed that experiential consumption was more effective than material consumption in enhancing consumers' hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and savoring played a mediating role in the effect of consumption types on hedonic well-being.Study 2 used recall method to initiate different consumption types,aiming to further explore the mediating role of savoring and the moderating role of materialism.The results found that experiential consumption enhanced savoring,which then further enhanced consumers' hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.For those with a low materialistic level,experiential consumption could enhance savoring and thus enhance happiness;but for individuals with high materialistic level,experiential consumption could not predict savoring.Study 3 simulated different consumption types through the laboratory setting and initiated state materialism to explores the moderating role of materialism on the mediating effect of savoring.The results found that for people who in low materialism state,experiential consumption could enhance the individual's hedonic happiness by improving savoring.The main results of the studies are as follows:(1)Experiential consumption enhances consumers' hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being more than material consumption;(2)Savoring mediates the effect of consumption types on well-being.Experiential consumption can improve savoring,which in turn enhances consumers' hedonic wellbeing and eudaimonic well-being.(3)Materialism is the boundary condition of the mediating effect.For those with a low materialistic level,experiential consumption can enhance savoring and thus enhance happiness;but for individuals with high materialistic level,experiential consumption cannot predict savoring.