Surprise! The Positive Impact of Uncertainty on the Evaluation of Experiential Purchases

Most people, most of the time, would prefer to have more information rather than less. Information generally leads to better decisions and hence greater utility (Stigler 1961). When individuals believe they lack sufficient information, they experience uncertainty (Miliken 1987) and most people, most of the time, would prefer to avoid the experience of uncertainty and its attendant anxiety (Calvo and Castillo, 2001; Chandrashekaran et al. 2007; Loewenstein 1994). Nevertheless, research has shown that there are some circumstances under which uncertainty is viewed positively (Goldsmith and Amir, 2010; Lee and Qiu 2009; Paley et al. 2015; Shen, Fishbach, and Shee 2015; Wilson et al. 2005). We suggest that one such circumstance lies in the distinction between experiential and material purchases. Experiential purchases are intangible events that a person lives through; material purchases are tangible goods that are typically kept in one’s possession (Van Boven and Gilovich 2003). We propose that experiential consumption is more routinely associated with uncertainty and surprise than material consumption, so that uncertainty is not only more tolerated when making experiential purchases, but is sometimes actually viewed positively.