Of happy larks and unhappy owls: Why morning versus evening types feel different levels of happiness from experiential versus material purchases

Abstract

AbstractPeople can identify as morning types or evening types. Research has shown that evening types are generally less happy and have a lower sense of well‐being. While there is limited research in consumer psychology on chronotypes, one question may be asked: Would they gain from the experiential advantage (where people elicit greater happiness from experiential vs. material purchases) and become happier? We find that evening types, in fact, elicit lower levels of happiness from their experiential purchases compared to morning types and, in effect, feel happier from their material purchases. Furthermore, this is because of the greater subjective distance they feel from their experiential purchases. This research contributes to our understanding of long‐term happiness in a significant section of society—evening types and also calls on researchers to explore the topic of evening chronotype happiness and well‐being in greater depth from a marketing perspective.