The huge amounts of money spent every year in purchasing material goods
do not seem very effective in increasing consumers’ happiness. Indeed, higher
income and correspondingly expensive consumption do not make people much
happier, which implies that current consumerism is extremely inefficient
in terms of producing happiness. Extant research and exploratory analyses
suggest that people could improve their happiness-to-consumption efficiency
through activities that let them achieve a sense of mastery and belonging, and
by engaging in experiential and social consumption. Based on preliminary
results hereby discussed, the article proposes research questions to be investigated
by means of a cross-cultural study, anticipates potential contributions
to the field, and suggests future research possibilities.