Life is Short, So Experience It to the Fullest: The Effect of Future Time Perspective on Purchase Preferences and Subsequent Experiential Advantage in Psychological Well-Being

How do people allocate their time and money to purchases when they perceive their future time as limited or expansive? Based on socioemotional selectivity theory (SST), we demonstrate that a limited future time perspective (FTP) increases preferences for experiential over material purchases (Studies 1a-1c). The search for meaning mediates between FTP and experiential purchases (Study 2). Further, we demonstrate the experiential advantage of experiential purchases in eudaimonic, meaning-based well-being, that is, individuals who prefer experiential purchases exhibit a higher level of psychological well-being than those who prefer material purchases. This experiential advantage in psychological well-being is strengthened among consumers with a limited (vs. control) FTP (Study 3). Overall, these findings offer a major contribution to the literature on the link between FTP and preferences for experiential purchases and subsequent experiential advantage. Practically, the current studies indicate that both marketers and consumers could pay more attention to the meaning-based needs, which bring people ultimate happiness.