When Does Mindfulness Translate Into Consumer Well‐Being? The Role of Mindful Consumption and Meditation Regularity
Sharad Kumar Gupta, Weng Marc Lim, N. Garg
Psychology and Marketing October 5, 2026 DOI: 10.1002/mar.70274 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Two studies: a controlled experiment and a survey testing a moderated mediation model Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 503 |
| Population | Postgraduate students in Study 1; 503 consumers (74% nonstudents) in Study 2 |
| Intervention | Guided meditation |
| Duration | 2-month guided meditation intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | A 2-month guided meditation intervention raised mindfulness and mindful consumption relative to a control condition, and survey data from 503 consumers support mindful consumption as a mediator between mindfulness and life satisfaction. Meditation regularity moderated the model: it strengthened the mindfulness-to-mindful-consumption and direct mindfulness-to-life-satisfaction associations, while the indirect effect through mindful consumption was significant among new meditators but not regular meditators. |
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.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology October 27, 2008
- Home practice in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis of participants' mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes Behaviour Research and Therapy May 10, 2017
- Dose-response Relationship of Reported Lifetime Meditation Practice with Mental Health and Wellbeing: a Cross-sectional Study. Mindfulness 2022
and 9 more in the library