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Humans are highly social creatures. So it comes as no surprise when experiential purchases generate more satisfaction in terms of sociability than material goods. People tend to enjoy outdoor activities and holiday trips by sharing these experiences with their family or friends. Which consequently also reinforce their social bonds and create unforgettable memories together. Yet even if one decides going on a solo trip, it's highly probable one meets people and socialises with them, making the vacation more enjoyable and an exciting adventure.
Another reason it enhances social relations is due to the increased feelings of "relatedness". In a conducted social experiment, they asked people in a group to form pairs and talk about each other's five favourite experiential purchases and five favourite material purchases they had made. The results they found was that when sharing about experiences such as holidays or countries they visited as opposed to certain material goods they purchased, the former generated more relatedness between the participants. As nearly everyone experiences similar experiences that prompt conversation, which makes people feel closer to each other- not to mention the experiential stories to talk about are more bonding than talking about the material goods one owns.
Experiential purchases build upon the wholeness of our identity. What does this mean? Well, think about the fact that "we are what we do, not what we have". We are the complete set of the experiences we have lived in our lives. The study found that material possessions do not define a person's life. When you tell about your life story, you talk about the time you vacationed in Barbados, that kite-surfing excursion you took where you met your fiancé, the first time you took your children to a theme park, etc. The experiences, whether good or bad, define us, and build-upon our self-identity and autobiography.
The study also found that when comparing the feelings of dissatisfaction after a material purchase with an experiential purchase going awry, the feelings of dissatisfaction after a material purchase were more accentuated. Feelings such as: "regretting having bought that over-hyped electronic device", or that "not so flattering sofa", are common for material goods. Whereas when an experiential purchase that didn't go as expected, for instance, a holiday trip, these feelings of dissatisfaction were less acute and were more fleeting. What's more, what they found was that when these experiences didn't go as planned, they were in time rationalised, and even perceived in a "better light" or even humoured about in hindsight, not to mention they would on occasions bring people even closer together. Whereas with material purchases, when an item becomes faulty, people soon discard and forget about it.
Therefore, people tend to feel far more regrets about buying a material good than when it comes to experiences. On the other hand, what the study also found was that people tend to have more regrets when it comes to not buying an experiential purchase, that when it comes to not buying a material possession. Just think about it. What would you feel more remorseful about: Not buying that stylish jacket you saw on the shop display, or not going to that concert with your friends that they've been raving about?
Furthermore, another insight they found was that the novelty with material possessions can quickly change to a mundane commonplace, whereas experiential adventures linger long in the memory and become ingrained in one's life story. Just remember that videogame you craved for and after two weeks that excitement started to fade away until it got stored on a dusty shelf. And compare it to an exciting experience you had many years ago which resurfaces into the mind during a conversation with friends-- you tell about your experience with pride, and you hold that cherished memory. It's unlikely that you will rave over an item you purchased some time ago.
