The rhythm of indulgence: How time of day shapes hedonic consumption

While prior research has extensively documented the contextual antecedents of hedonic versus utilitarian consumption, the temporal dynamics governing these preferences remain underexplored. Drawing on chronobiology, this paper investigates how time of day influences consumers’ trade-offs between hedonic and utilitarian options. Challenging the prevailing “deficit model” that attributes evening indulgence to ego depletion or stress-induced coping, we propose an activation model. We theorize that the natural evening peak in circadian rhythms elevates psychological arousal, acting as a critical motivational resource that facilitates the affective engagement and self-justification required for hedonic consumption. Through a mixed-methods approach, we provide robust evidence for this temporal shift. Study 1, analyzing a large-scale dataset of over 240,000 online retail transactions in China, reveals a significant evening increase in both the quantity and monetary value of hedonic purchases. Study 2, a controlled experiment with US consumers, replicates this main effect and provides causal evidence that psychological arousal uniquely mediates this relationship, ruling out alternative mechanisms such as ego depletion, social norms, and family norms. This research contributes to the literature by integrating biological rhythms into the framework of hedonic choice, offering actionable insights for key market stakeholders, including digital platforms, retailers, brands, and marketers.