Consumer happiness and sustainable consumption

Abstract

Scholars have paid increasing attention to consumer happiness and sustainable consumption, but their findings have not been subject to a systematic review in a business context. We used the SPAR-4-SLR framework to fill this gap. Our content analysis of 36 articles allowed us to identify three principal themes—well-being beyond consumption, the dilemma of ethical consumption, and consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainability—and pinpoint the relationship between consumer happiness and sustainable consumption. The results show that sustainable consumption leads to consumer happiness, that, consumers are happy to consume less, and that they are willing to pay more for sustainability. The findings, which complement those of previous studies, could be used by marketers to devise strategies that encourage sustainable consumption and satisfy consumers.