Nicolao, L., Irwin, J. R., & Goodman, J. K. (2009). Happiness for sale: do experiential purchases make consumers happier than material purchases? Journal of Consumer Research, 36(2), 188-198. doi:10.1
Nicolao, Irwin and Goodman test the recommendation, from earlier theories, that consumers are happier spending on experiences such as travel than on material possessions such as cars. They show that it may be misleading in its general form, because the valence of the outcome moderates the difference in reported retrospective happiness. For purchases that turned out positively, experiential purchases bring more happiness than material ones. For purchases that turned out negatively, experiences have no advantage and, for some types of consumers, bring less happiness.
Nicolao, Irwin and Goodman test the recommendation, from earlier theories, that consumers are happier spending on experiences such as travel than on material possessions such as cars. They show that it may be misleading in its general form, because the valence of the outcome moderates the difference in reported retrospective happiness. For purchases that turned out positively, experiential purchases bring more happiness than material ones. For purchases that turned out negatively, experiences have no advantage and, for some types of consumers, bring less happiness.
Written from the abstract as shown on the OpenAlex record, read 2026-11-04.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
086/597049. Abstract read (publisher page): advantage only for positive outcomes; for negative outcomes no advantage and, for some, less happiness; attributed to slower adaptation to experiential purchases.