“Night owls” tend to find more happiness and satisfaction from material purchases—such as clothing or gadgets—than from experiences like concerts or vacations. In contrast, “morning larks”—people who prefer to wake up early—derive greater happiness from experiential purchases.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.22062

From the linked article:

A recent study published in Psychology & Marketing provides insight into how our internal body clocks, or chronotypes, may influence the happiness we derive from the things we buy. According to the research, individuals who identify as “night owls” tend to find more happiness and satisfaction from material purchases—such as clothing or gadgets—than from experiences like concerts or vacations. In contrast, “morning larks”—people who prefer to wake up early—derive greater happiness from experiential purchases.

The results consistently showed that evening types derived less happiness from their experiential purchases compared to material purchases. Morning types, on the other hand, experienced the expected “experiential advantage”—they were generally happier with experiences than with material possessions. The key difference seemed to be how distant these purchases felt in time.

For evening types, experiential purchases felt more distant, even if the event had occurred recently. This feeling of distance seemed to reduce the emotional impact of the experience, leading to lower levels of happiness. In contrast, material purchases, which can be physically present and used over time, did not evoke the same sense of distance. As a result, evening types found more lasting happiness from material goods.