Comparing material and experiential framing in access-based fashion consumption and its influence on consumer happiness

ABSTRACT

Drawing on the experiential advantage, three studies were conducted with online clothing rental service users and potential consumers to assess how material and experiential framing impact consumer happiness and word of mouth (WOM) intentions, moderated by consumer materialism, across different consumption (i.e., buying and renting fashion products) and product types (i.e., renting instrumental vs. terminal products). The findings indicate that material framing enhances consumer perceptions of rented fashion products as reflective of their self-identity and increases product-self connections, thereby boosting happiness and WOM intentions. In contrast, experiential framing proves advantageous with instrumental products. This research expands our understanding of the boundary conditions and psychological processes of material vs. experiential framing and provides practical guidance for access-based fashion businesses to effectively communicate and present their services, aiming to achieve positive customer buzz and recommendations.

KEYWORDS:

• Access-based consumption
• closeness-to-the-self
• consumer happiness
• experiential advantage
• product-self connection
• word of mouth

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sanga Song

Sanga Song is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Indiana University East, Richmond, IN, with a research focus on consumer behaviour in digital environments, consumer-brand relationships, and transformative consumer research. Her published work has appeared in various journals, including the International Journal of Advertising, Information & Management, and Journal of Product & Brand Management.

Juanjuan Wu

Juanjuan Wu is Professor of Retail Merchandising at the University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN. She studies consumer responses to retail environments across brick and mortar, online, and virtual reality formats. She has published in a variety of journals, such as the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Information & Management, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, and Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process & the Fashion Industry.