This thesis consists of two main parts: Part 1- A qualitative user study of ten interviews, referred to as Study 1, that is addressed in ‘Violins, ovens and hiking shoes: How experience enablers affect people’s subjective well-being in comparison to material- and experiential acquisitions’ Part 2- A quantitative user study of 209 participants who filled in an online survey, referred to as Study 2, is addressed in ‘Nuancing the experience recommendation: how do experiential, experience-enabling, material- and symbolic purchases differ in relation to well-being’. While Study 1 generated rich user data and aimed at increasing the understanding on the material-experiential spectrum, Study 2 quantified the hypothesis that resulted from Study 1 concerning the acquisition types and their relation to one’s happiness.