How can we encourage mindful consumption? Insights from mindfulness and religious faith

Abstract

PurposeMindful consumption is a popular concept that is often associated with mindfulness and religious faith, but nonetheless, its empirical associations to these remain relatively underexplored. Clarifying the impact of mindfulness and religious faith on mindful consumption is important to delineate their effectiveness in influencing consumers to reconsider consumption decisions (e.g. the need for additional products) given the detrimental effects of mindless consumption (e.g. financial debt, environmental degradation and materialistic culture). The concern about mindfulness potentially being a religious matter can also be resolved through empirical validation. Hence, the purpose of this research is to advance the empirical understanding of how mindfulness and religious faith impact on mindful consumption and whether mindfulness and religious faith are interrelated.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a multistudy approach to scaffold the exploration of mindfulness and religious faith as precursors of mindful consumption.FindingsStudy 1 carries out an experiment with undergraduates and demonstrates that mindfulness encourages mindful consumption. Study 2 conducts an offline survey with undergraduates and provides evidence that mindfulness and religious faith independently (i.e. without interacting with each other) encourage mindful consumption. Study 3 uses an online survey of consumers for conceptual replication and reaffirms the findings of Studies 1 and 2 across gender, occupations and household incomes (except middle-income households).Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of these findings are discussed, wherein mindfulness and religious faith are earmarked as viable avenues for promoting mindful consumption.Originality/valueThis seminal attempt uses multiple studies to empirically validate the nature and generalizability of relationships between mindfulness, religious faith and mindful consumption.