When suffering hurts more: suffering for material products reduces intrinsic motivation, well-being, and repurchase intention compared to experiences

• Suffering reduces motivation and well-being when acquiring material products. • Suffering does not harm motivation or well-being in experiential purchases. • Material vs. experiential product type changes how suffering affects consumers. • Suffering lowers repurchase intention only for material, not experiential, goods. • Helps firms identify when consumer effort harms purchase outcomes. Suffering (significant effort with negative valence) is increasingly present in consumption, yet little is known about when it undermines motivation or well-being. This paper examines how suffering affects intrinsic motivation, well-being, and repurchase intention, moderated by material and experiential product types. Across four studies, we test whether suffering (vs. control) has differential effects on consumer outcomes. Study 1 (N = 300) shows that suffering reduces well-being in material but not experiential purchases. Studies 2a (N = 429) and 2b (N = 394) replicate this across scenarios, showing that suffering in material contexts lowers well-being and repurchase intention, effects not observed for experiential purchases. Study 3 (N = 487) shows that in material contexts, suffering reduces intrinsic motivation and well-being, thereby decreasing repurchase intention. These findings demonstrate that suffering undermines outcomes in material consumption, while experiential consumption appears insulated. We extend self-determination theory by showing how suffering impacts motivation across consumption types.