Less is more! The rationale behind the decision-making style of voluntary simplifiers.

Enhancing consumer satisfaction and well-being is an important objective of companies, retailers and public policy makers. In the current debate on climate change, a consistent theme is that consumers in developed countries must learn to consume less. The present study (based on representative data sets from the US, N = 1,017, and Germany, N = 1030) addresses these issues by using a scenario-based experiment to analyze how satisfied voluntary simplifiers (people who voluntarily abstain from consumption) are with their purchase decisions in the case of a muesli brand. The research question is whether people who follow a sustainable, simple lifestyle are more satisfied with their daily consumption choices than people who have a more consumerist lifestyle. If so, it would be easier for many people to change their lifestyles and consume less. In addition, this scenario experiment manipulates consumer empowerment and decision complexity since both factors are supposed to influence purchase satisfaction. The results are consistent across both countries and indicate that voluntary simplifiers experience a higher level of purchasing satisfaction than non-simplifiers, whereby empowerment and decision complexity play different roles. • This paper links the lifestyle of refraining from consumption with personal well-being and shopping satisfaction. • A scenario-based online experiment on the satisfaction of voluntary simplifiers with their purchase decisions is conducted. • Empowerment and decision complexity moderate the voluntary simplicity-decision satisfaction relationship in different ways. • Voluntary simplifiers are more satisfied with their purchasing decisions than consumption-driven individuals. • Consumer empowerment also leads to greater decision satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]