Deriving happiness through extraordinary or ordinary brand experiences in times of COVID‐19 threat

Abstract

The authors examined how the joint effect of brand experience type (ordinary vs. extraordinary) and COVID‐19 threat on consumer happiness changed at different stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic. The findings from five studies, with the COVID‐19 threat and lockdown status measured as well as manipulated, suggest that COVID‐19 threat exerts converse moderating influences on the extraordinariness–happiness relationship under no lockdown and lockdown. Under lockdown, threat attenuates the effect of brand extraordinariness on happiness; extraordinary brand experiences bring more happiness than ordinary brand experiences when the perceived threat of COVID‐19 is low, but consumers derive comparable happiness from extraordinary and ordinary experiences when perceived threat is high. Under no lockdown, threat amplifies the positive effect of extraordinariness on happiness. Consumers rarely experience a large‐scale lockdown due to a pandemic, and this research advances understanding of how consumer happiness from a brand experience changes with the trajectory of a pandemic.

Does survival threat make us irrational? The effects of disease cues on sunk cost bias

“…Notably, previous studies have consistently shown that disease cues, such as those associated with COVID‐19, lead to heightened health concerns and a significant degree of uncertainty (Fiorillo & Gorwood, 2020; Li & Qian, 2022; Park et al, 2021). In line with these findings, it has been observed that individuals often experience a diminished sense of control during perceived threats (Jiao et al, 2022). Recent studies have found that uncertainty plays a pivotal role in the emergence of the sunk cost bias because humans may use prior effort to infer future value in response to uncertainty (Sweis et al, 2018; Watzek & Brosnan, 2020).…”

“…As a result, addressing and understanding consumer well‐being concerns in the face of such threats has become an integral component of contemporary marketing research (Campbell et al, 2020; Magwegwe et al, 2023; Pradhan, 2022). Previous studies have found disease cues could increase individuals' perception of uncertainty and feelings of loss of control, leading to various irrational consumption behaviors (Fiorillo & Gorwood, 2020; Jiao et al, 2022; Singh et al, 2023). Meanwhile, sunk cost bias was considered a suboptimal choice, resulting in financial and time losses, an unhealthy diet, and reduced consumer objective well‐being (Emich & Pyone, 2018).…”

The role of online retail website experience on brand happiness and willingness to share personal information: an SOR perspective

“…The brand's website is an important source of consumers' online experiences (Singh and S€ oderlund, 2020). Consumers' interactions with online e-commerce brands can deliver memorable experiences (Patel et al, 2020), and drive brand happiness (Jiao et al, 2022).…”

“…Consumers' interactions with online e-commerce brands can deliver memorable experiences (Patel et al. , 2020), and drive brand happiness (Jiao et al. , 2022).…”