Research shows that consumers enjoy shopping and consuming with others but also that the enjoyment of companionship is diminished during consumption as compared to non-consumption activities. All else being equal, as commercial locations substitute for public spaces (parks, boulevards) as loci for social interaction in large cities, collective well-being should be expected to diminish. A better understanding of what drives enjoyment of companionship during consumption at retail locations, as well as the individual differences in responses to those drivers, may point to avenues to further collective well-being in urban areas. This research explores the role of fundamental social motives, specifically affiliation need, need for independence and fear of exclusion (Neel et al. 2016) in predicting the enjoyment of consumption experiences. As they drive social behavior, we expect social motives to predict enjoyment of consumption experiences.
