Morning bird or night owl? Your shopping choices might depend on it!

What if your shopping habits are influenced by more than just taste or budget? What if the time of day you feel most energetic also dictates whether you find more joy in buying a new gadget or a ticket to a concert?

New research, published in the journal Psychology & Marketing, suggests that the difference between morning birds and night owls might be more profound than we think — extending into the very way we experience happiness through our purchases.

For this study, Dr. Shashi Minchael (Ph.D., Marketing; M.S., Marketing Research) surveyed nearly 1,100 individuals. Participants were asked to recall both material purchases (like gadgets or clothing) and experiential ones (such as concert tickets), and then indicate which of the two brought them more happiness.

After providing details about the price and timing of their purchases, participants were categorised as either morning or evening people.

The results revealed a striking contrast: night owls experienced greater happiness and improved well-being from material purchases rather than experiences. On the flip side, morning people found more joy in spending on experiences rather than tangible goods.

Dr. Minchael attributes this to “subjective time perception” — a concept describing how people perceive the passage of time.

Night owls often feel that past events are more distant, which makes them prefer enduring material items over fleeting experiences. Morning people, however, maintain the emotional resonance of their experiences longer, keeping memories like a concert vivid even after some time has passed.

“That is the crux of this research,” Dr. Minchael explained. “For evening people, due to their relative present focus, time seems to go faster for them and their memory of an experience fades, hence their lower happiness. That's why they'd rather have an item that is always present.”
Dr. Minchael emphasised that understanding these psychological differences is invaluable for marketers, as it can help them better their product positioning. However, it could also benefit the consumers by giving them a deeper understanding of how their internal clocks influence their purchasing decisions and overall happiness.