Too hard to imagine: material versus experiential product preference while seeking happiness

The current research examines that happiness-seeking (vs. no happiness-seeking) increases preference for material products, but not for experiential products. This research tests that imagination of product consumption underlies this effect via mediation analysis (Studies 3 and 6). This research also shows that the proposed effect is mitigated when imagination is directly guided (Study 4) and when imagination cues relevant to the target products are present (Study 5). This research also identifies several important boundary conditions that can impair consumers’ imagination. Consistent with the theorizing, the proposed effect is mitigated when material products involve unfamiliar, innovative aspects (Study 6) and when imagination capacity is low (Study 7). This research contributes to the literature on happiness, imagination, materialism, and consumer behavior. This research also offers useful insights into how to adjust consumers’ product preferences by altering their imagination of product consumption while seeking happiness during purchase decisions.