When Does Mindfulness Translate Into Consumer Well‐Being? The Role of Mindful Consumption and Meditation Regularity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mindfulness correlates with higher life satisfaction, yet consumer wellbeing research rarely specifies the behavioral route through which this relationship emerges. Drawing on self‐regulation theory, the research proposes mindful consumption as that route and, drawing on self‐determination theory, evaluates meditation regularity as a boundary condition. Meditation regularity is selected over other candidate moderators given that meditation practice is the primary activity through which mindfulness is cultivated, so the regularity of that practice should govern how far mindful awareness has been internalized and, in turn, whether wellbeing gains run through consumption behavior or through a direct psychological pathway. Two studies test a moderated mediation model. Study 1, a controlled experiment with postgraduate students, provides the experimental benchmark, given that a 2‐month guided meditation intervention raised mindfulness and mindful consumption relative to a control condition, whereas the postintervention associations among mindfulness, mindful consumption, and life satisfaction supply explanatory evidence of mediation. Study 2, a survey of 503 consumers (74% nonstudents), supports the mediation and clarifies heterogeneity by meditation regularity, which strengthens both the mindfulness to mindful consumption association and the direct mindfulness to life satisfaction association, whereas the indirect effect through mindful consumption is significant among new meditators and non‐significant among regular meditators. The findings position self‐reported mindful consumption as a relevant behavioral mechanism that links mindfulness with consumer wellbeing and identify meditation regularity as a boundary condition that governs both the mindfulness to mindful consumption association and the direct pathway to life satisfaction. Implications emerge for interventions and marketing programs that promote consumer wellbeing through more intentional, consequence‐aware, value‐aligned consumption.