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A substantial portion of existing literature on comparing experiential and material purchases on happiness indicates an experiential advantage. However, this advantage is presumed to occur in developed countries, with developing countries being overlooked. To address this gap in the literature, this paper examines the effect of consumption in China. It introduces a new perspective, consumption frequency (ordinary vs extraordinary), to investigate the interactive effect of consumption frequency (ordinary vs extraordinary) and product type (material vs experiential) on happiness and to explore the underlying mechanisms in China.

The study constructs a model about the interactive effect of consumption frequency (ordinary vs extraordinary) and product type (material vs experiential) on happiness and takes self-expansion as the underlying mechanism. The authors employ two experiments and a nationwide secondary survey dataset to test the model.

(1) consumption frequency and product type can interactively improve happiness significantly in China; (2) extraordinary material consumption induces a higher level of happiness than extraordinary experiential consumption and (3) these effects are driven by self-expansion, which is an important character for people in developing countries.

This study is incomplete in its lack of investigation into the boundary conditions, such as materialism in the model.

This paper introduces a novel perspective, consumption frequency and integrates it with existing research variables (material vs experiential) to propose the interactive effect and the underlying mechanism, self-expansion. This paper contributes to the theory of consumption happiness by introducing the concept of consumption frequency in the comparison of material versus experiential products on happiness. Conversely, our findings contribute to the understanding of happiness in China.

Compensatory consumption focuses on the psychological value of products. Special agricultural products have symbolic and social functions that effectively meet psychological needs and stimulate compensatory consumption behavior. The social commerce context not only enriches consumer experience but also influences consumer purchase decisions. This study constructs a model based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory to explore the mechanism of compensatory consumption behavior of special agricultural products in a social commerce context.

This study uses a two-stage method of partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze 523 valid samples collected through random sampling. PLS-SEM was used to examine the relationships and effects between the variables; fsQCA was used to conduct a cohort analysis between the variables to further reveal the complexity and diversity of compensatory consumption behaviors.

PLS-SEM indicates that product attributes and social affordances influence consumers’ triggering of compensatory consumption behavior for control and belongingness needs. fsQCA shows that there are three different modes, and the satisfaction of belongingness or control needs is a necessary condition for triggering compensatory consumption behavior.

There is limited research on compensatory consumption behavior specifically focused on special agricultural products. This study explores the influencing factors and mechanisms of compensatory consumption behavior related to special agricultural products. The occurrence of compensatory consumption behavior is not only influenced by product attributes but also by the social commerce environment. In marketing strategies, it is important to not only consider product characteristics but also pay attention to consumers’ social and psychological needs.