Why Experience Gifts Beat Objects
Most psychology research finds that experiences make people happier than objects and strengthen relationships more when given as gifts. The advantage comes from how we remember experiences, how they become part of our identity, and the emotions we feel while using them. Studies also show most people still give objects anyway.
What is the difference between an experience and a thing?
Researchers define an experiential purchase as something you live through, such as a class, a meal or a concert. A material purchase is something you own and keep, such as clothes, gadgets or household objects. Many gifts fall somewhere in between.
Do experiences make people happier?
In 2003, Van Boven and Gilovich ran two surveys and two experiments. People reported that their experiential purchases made them happier than their material ones. In the lab, thinking about a past experience lifted mood more than thinking about a past object (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003).
The researchers listed three reasons. Experiences improve with positive reinterpretation over time. They feel more central to identity. And they contribute more to relationships.
What happens when the experience is a gift?
Experiential gifts strengthen the giver-recipient relationship more than material gifts. Chan and Mogilner showed this across four experiments with real gift exchanges, even when the two people did not use the gift together (Journal of Consumer Research, 2017).
In one study, 59 pairs of friends took part and one person received $15 to buy either an experience or an object. The relationship boost came from the emotion felt while using the gift, not from unwrapping it. As lead author Cindy Chan put it, an experiential gift "elicits a strong emotional response when a recipient consumes it". Despite the findings, 78% of 219 surveyed givers said their most recent gift was material.
Do shared experiences matter more?
Shared experiences drive most of the happiness advantage. Caprariello and Reis found in four studies that experiences done with others were valued more than objects, while experiences done alone were valued about the same as possessions (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2013).
The strongest gifts are therefore those the recipient is likely to enjoy with a partner, a friend, a sibling or a colleague.
How do you choose a gift that actually gets used?
Picture the person actually doing the activity rather than opening the package. Choose something easy to share with another person. Keep it local and flexible so it is more likely to happen.
Glad You Liked offers gift certificates redeemed in person with local makers in Barcelona, Madrid and Tbilisi. Each certificate is valid for 12 months, the recipient can swap it for another maker at any time, and if a maker closes they get a refund or a swap. Group options (Glad Swap, Glad Surprise, and Glad Pick for Me at €30 or €50 per person) are in preview.
Questions
Is there scientific evidence that experience gifts are better?
Yes. Chan and Mogilner (Journal of Consumer Research, 2017) ran four experiments with real gift exchanges and found experiential gifts strengthened the giver-recipient relationship more than material gifts, even when the pair did not use the gift together.
Why do experiences make people happier than objects?
Van Boven and Gilovich (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003) found that experiences improve with positive reinterpretation over time, feel more central to identity, and contribute more to relationships.
Does it matter if the experience is shared?
Yes. Caprariello and Reis (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2013) showed across four studies that shared experiences were valued more than objects, while solo experiences were valued about the same as possessions.
Are handmade objects a bad gift, then?
Not necessarily. Chan and Mogilner note that objects carrying strong emotion, such as a framed photo, can work in a similar way. A handmade piece collected in person from the maker who created it often carries that feeling.