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Consumers’ pursuit of material and experiential purchases

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Tom Gilovich discusses why experiential purchases make people happier than material purchases once consumers have covered their basic needs.

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Image courtesy of interviewee. January 28, 2024

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This video video discusses the difference between experiential and material purchases, highlighting how experiential purchases, such as vacations or lessons, tend to bring greater and more enduring happiness compared to material possessions like kitchenware or furniture. It explains that experiences become integral to our identities, connect us with others, and are less susceptible to harmful social comparisons than material goods. This video video outlines three key reasons for the greater enjoyment derived from experiences: they become a part of who we are, foster social connections, and are consumed in absolute rather than relative terms. It concludes by noting a societal awareness of this distinction, particularly in light of the pandemic, which increased people's appreciation for experiences over material items, as illustrated by a humorous cartoon emphasizing that people often regret missed experiences far more than unpurchased material goods.

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An experiential purchase is a purchase made in

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order to do something get tennis lessons

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go on a vacation see an opera and we

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contrast that to a purchase

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you make in order to have something.

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A new set of kitchenware a new dining room table Etc.

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And what we found is that experiential purchases

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on average make people happier,

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or at least their happiness. They get from

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them is more enduring than the happiness you

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get from Material purchases you go

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on vacation to take in the Deep Blue

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Water of the Mediterranean you purchase

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a ticket to an opera in order to hear the

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tenor Etc. Whereas a material purchase

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your purchasing something that you own.

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and it's pretty easy for people to

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relate to these distinct categories, but

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there's

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They aren't perfectly distinct. They

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have occupy something of a Continuum. For

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example, a bicycle is something you buy and

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it's in your possession, but it's a vehicle for

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experiences and those intermediate

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cases are a little bit like dusk or

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Dawn. There are times when to clear whether are

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we talking about night or day right now? Sometimes it's not

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so clear but the distinction between night and

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day obviously something we find very useful and

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as people seem to find useful having

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this distinction between experiential and

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material purchases first psychologist. That's the

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really interesting question. What is it about experiences

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that make the enjoyment they

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provide so enduring and it seems to

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be the result primarily of three

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important psychological processes for

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one thing. Your experiences are become

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a bigger.

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Part of who you are. We are

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in some sense the sum total

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of our experiences and although we might love

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our material Goods. We display

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them so that people will

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think differently about us.

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We use them to project a certain

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image. So in that sense, they are a part of us, but they

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no matter how much you identify

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with them. They remain out there. They are separate from

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you in a way that you're experiences are

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not and so the transformation of

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oneself when for example

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you travel since that's

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such a big part of who we are it's an

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enduring part of the enjoyment we

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get from our experiential purchases. That's

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one of the reasons travel is

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so educational you go

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to some country you enjoy it while you're there

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and from that moment on anything

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that happens to that country you relate

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to in a way that you never did before Oh an earthquake

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just happened in Indonesia. You pay more attention to

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that than if you had never visited Indonesia, so

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our experiences contribute to

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the stock of Who We Are

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So that's one reason a second reason is our experiences

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connect us to other people more

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than our material Goods. Do if you

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share a material good with someone

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you have the same computer same smartphone.

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Same drive the same car you feel

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a little closer to that person, but not to the

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same degree that if you enjoyed the

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same sport have the same hobby travel

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to the same places and lots

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of research shows that we get.

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Lots of enjoyment. Our

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lives are richer through social connection and

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experiences provide that more and then

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finally experiences provide more enjoyment because

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we consume them in more

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absolute terms than in

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relative terms in comparison to material Goods.

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Think of it this way if you just bought a new car and

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you find out that I bought a very similar one.

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But mine's better. It's faster. It's got

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a better looking color. I paid less for it.

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That's gonna bother you.

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If you find out that you and I went to the

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same Broadway show and on the

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day that I went. The critics say that something

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magic happened then that would bother you too,

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but not nearly as much as the invidious comparison

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when it comes to material Goods.

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Um, and for those three reasons, we get

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more enjoyment from our experience or

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experiential purchases on average than

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our material purchases to some degree. There is

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an awareness of that in class. I show

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a cartoon one panel cartoon where someone

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older person's lying on obviously his

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deathbed and the caption is I wish

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I had bought more crap. And the

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reason it's a cartoon is that we all recognize no on your

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deathbed you're not going to regret the material Goods. You

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didn't buy but you might very well regret

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some of the experiences that you had an opportunity

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to have and didn't have so in that

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sense. Yes. I do think people are aware of this. The research

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itself is achieved a fair

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amount of attention. So that has made people even more

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aware of it.

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And awareness was further even more by the pandemic that

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we just went through when people were shut in

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and created this thirst for more experiences.

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The their absence made people

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very aware of how important this is

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for their psychological well-being. And so now

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you see at least in the United States you see these

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Television commercials with none other

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than you and McGregor talking about getting out

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there and enjoying experiences and the kinds

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of regrets people have experiential ones and

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the kind they don't have material ones.

Experiential Purchases: Lasting Happiness Explained

00:00:06 - An experiential purchase is a purchase made in order to do something get tennis lessons go on a vacation see an opera and we contrast that to a purchase you make in order to have something. A new set of kitchenware a new dining room table Etc. And what we found is that experiential purchases on average make people happier, or at least their happiness. They get from them is more enduring than the happiness you
00:00:40 - on vacation to take in the Deep Blue Water of the Mediterranean you purchase a ticket to an opera in order to hear the tenor Etc. Whereas a material purchase your purchasing something that you own. and it's pretty easy for people to relate to these distinct categories, but there's They aren't perfectly distinct. They
00:01:11 - example, a bicycle is something you buy and it's in your possession, but it's a vehicle for experiences and those intermediate cases are a little bit like dusk or Dawn. There are times when to clear whether are we talking about night or day right now? Sometimes it's not so clear but the distinction between night and day obviously something we find very useful and as people seem to find useful having
00:01:42 - material purchases first psychologist. That's the really interesting question. What is it about experiences that make the enjoyment they provide so enduring and it seems to be the result primarily of three important psychological processes for one thing. Your experiences are become a bigger. Part of who you are. We are in some sense the sum total
00:02:14 - our material Goods. We display them so that people will think differently about us. We use them to project a certain image. So in that sense, they are a part of us, but they no matter how much you identify with them. They remain out there. They are separate from you in a way that you're experiences are not and so the transformation of oneself when for example
00:02:46 - such a big part of who we are it's an enduring part of the enjoyment we get from our experiential purchases. That's one of the reasons travel is so educational you go to some country you enjoy it while you're there and from that moment on anything that happens to that country you relate to in a way that you never did before an earthquake

Experiences Enhance Connection and Happiness

00:03:17 - that than if you had never visited Indonesia, so our experiences contribute to the stock of Who We Are So that's one reason a second reason is our experiences connect us to other people more than our material Goods. Do if you share a material good with someone you have the same computer same smartphone.
00:03:47 - a little closer to that person, but not to the same degree that if you enjoyed the same sport have the same hobby travel to the same places and lots of research shows that we get. Lots of enjoyment. Our lives are richer through social connection and experiences provide that more and then finally experiences provide more enjoyment because
00:04:18 - absolute terms than in relative terms in comparison to material Goods. Think of it this way if you just bought a new car and you find out that I bought a very similar one. But mine's better. It's faster. It's got a better looking color. I paid less for it. That's gonna bother you. If you find out that you and I went to the same Broadway show and on the day that I went. The critics say that something
00:04:51 - but not nearly as much as the invidious comparison when it comes to material Goods. and for those three reasons, we get more enjoyment from our experience or experiential purchases on average than our material purchases to some degree. There is an awareness of that in class. I show a cartoon one panel cartoon where someone older person's lying on obviously his
00:05:22 - I had bought more crap. And the reason it's a cartoon is that we all recognize no on your deathbed you're not going to regret the material Goods. You didn't buy but you might very well regret some of the experiences that you had an opportunity to have and didn't have so in that sense. Yes. I do think people are aware of this. The research itself is achieved a fair amount of attention. So that has made people even more
00:05:51 - And awareness was further even more by the pandemic that we just went through when people were shut in and created this thirst for more experiences. The their absence made people very aware of how important this is for their psychological well-being. And so now you see at least in the United States you see these Television commercials with none other than you and McGregor talking about getting out