Evaluating
Hedonic Adaptation
Customers rapidly become accustomed to positive experiences, causing satisfaction and perceived value to decline unless experiences are consistently refreshed or improved.
For Example
Consumers buying new smartphones initially experience high excitement and satisfaction, but rapidly adjust to these features, expecting more with each subsequent upgrade. Similarly, luxury hotels constantly refresh amenities, services, or experiences to counteract customers' inevitable adaptation to luxury standards.
Similar Biases
Similar biases: Expectation Escalation, Novelty Effect, Diminishing Marginal Utility. Opposing biases: Negativity Bias, Loss Aversion, Peak-End Rule
We tend to remember tasks and goals that are not completed.
Hedonic Adaptation refers to the psychological phenomenon whereby individuals quickly adjust to new pleasurable experiences, resulting in diminished satisfaction and enjoyment over time. Essentially, customers' expectations recalibrate upward with each positive experience, making sustained satisfaction challenging without continuous novelty or improvement. In Customer Experience (CX), this implies that brands must continuously innovate, refresh, and enhance experiences, products, or services to maintain high customer satisfaction. Customers initially delighted by premium features, bonuses, or perks rapidly become accustomed to them, expecting ever-higher levels of satisfaction. Effective CX strategies anticipate adaptation, strategically introducing periodic upgrades, novelty, and personalization to sustain long-term customer engagement and loyalty.
Lottery Winners and Hedonic Adaptation (Brickman et al., 1978)
This classic study compared lottery winners to non-winners, finding that after initial excitement, lottery winners quickly adapted to their new wealth and returned to previous happiness levels. Participants’ initial emotional peaks rapidly subsided, demonstrating clear hedonic adaptation. Meaning for CX: Brands should continually introduce new experiences, upgrades, or personalized interactions to maintain customer excitement and prevent satisfaction from declining rapidly due to adaptation.
Adaptation to Salary Increases (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2002)
Participants experiencing significant salary raises initially reported increased happiness but adapted quickly, with satisfaction returning to baseline levels over time. Increased financial comfort rapidly lost its emotional novelty. Meaning for CX: Brands need regular product or experience refreshes, upgrades, or unexpected benefits to counter customers' quick adaptation and sustain satisfaction and loyalty over time.
Experiences vs. Material Goods (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003)
Participants who purchased experiential rather than material goods adapted more slowly and maintained higher satisfaction over time. Experiences continually provided renewed emotional value, resisting adaptation better than material products. Meaning for CX: CX teams should strategically emphasize experiential elements in their offerings, as experiences slow down adaptation and sustain emotional value, creating long-term customer satisfaction.
Introduce Novelty from the Start
Kickstart Excitement Through Newness
Customers initially crave novel, exciting experiences. Brands must continuously refresh product launches, marketing strategies, or introductory offers to trigger excitement and emotional anticipation, combating rapid adaptation from the outset. Tesla consistently leverages novelty (new features, regular software updates) to keep initial customer excitement consistently high.
Establish Expectations of Continuous Improvement
Set the Bar High and Keep Raising It
During awareness, brands should communicate the promise of ongoing enhancements, upgrades, or exclusive content, setting expectations for continuous improvement and preventing rapid satisfaction decline. Netflix regularly emphasizes upcoming exclusive content, signaling continuous excitement and novelty, effectively offsetting early adaptation.
Reinforce Long-Term Value through Innovation
Showcase Ongoing Enhancements Clearly
Customers assessing options need assurance of sustained value. Clearly demonstrating ongoing upgrades or consistent novelty significantly boosts perceived long-term worth, offsetting anticipated hedonic adaptation. Apple regularly communicates long-term device support, updates, and consistent innovation, significantly reducing consideration anxiety and adaptation fears.
Enhance Exploration through Personalization
Constantly Refresh Experiences
Customers exploring products quickly adapt if experiences remain static. Personalizing experiences or offering regular new content significantly sustains emotional interest and enjoyment. Spotify continuously refreshes music recommendations, personalized playlists, and exclusive sessions, significantly maintaining exploration excitement.
Highlight Continuous Value Enhancements
Consistently Show Long-term Benefits
Customers researching products look for sustainable satisfaction. Highlighting ongoing innovations, loyalty programs, and consistent upgrades significantly sustains perceived value and excitement, combating hedonic adaptation effectively. Amazon Prime continuously communicates evolving benefits (new original content, fresh perks), significantly enhancing perceived long-term satisfaction.
Drive Decisions through Promised Novelty
Promise Ongoing Excitement
At selection points, clearly communicating future enhancements and ongoing product improvements significantly reduces anxiety about adaptation. Regular upgrades or exclusive future offerings (luxury hotel loyalty benefits) reassure customers that continuous satisfaction will be maintained, strengthening selection confidence.
Reinforce Ongoing Value Commitment
Make the Future Look Bright
During checkout, reassuring customers of upcoming benefits, future product enhancements, or continued support significantly prevents anxiety about diminishing returns. Adobe regularly emphasizes subscription benefits such as continual software improvements at checkout, significantly enhancing customer comfort and commitment.
Continuously Delight Customers
Refresh Satisfaction Regularly
Post-purchase experiences rapidly adapt without regular refreshment. Continuous personalized interactions, unexpected benefits, upgrades, and exclusive experiences significantly enhance long-term satisfaction and customer loyalty. Starbucks Rewards consistently surprises customers with personalized offers, new beverages, or seasonal specials, continuously combating adaptation effectively.
Customer Experience Challenges
Typical challenges in CX where the bias can be used
- Control: Customers facing repetitive experiences perceive reduced control, leading to dissatisfaction. Brands should proactively deliver ongoing novelty or personalized interactions, significantly empowering customers by continually refreshing experiences and maintaining perceived control.
- Confidence: Rapidly adapting customers may doubt brand commitment if improvements stall. CX teams must clearly demonstrate continuous innovation and consistent upgrades, significantly reinforcing customer confidence and maintaining emotional engagement.
- Risk: Customers fearing diminishing satisfaction perceive significant risk. Clearly communicating future enhancements and consistent benefits significantly reduces perceived risks, reassuring customers through continuous improvement promises.
- Selection: Adaptation fears can paralyze customer decisions, fearing short-lived satisfaction. Brands must explicitly promise sustained novelty, upgrades, or exclusive experiences, significantly reducing selection anxiety and promoting confident decisions.
- Information: Customers quickly dismiss repetitive or static messages, leading to disengagement. Brands must continuously refresh information delivery, significantly maintaining interest, novelty, and sustained engagement.
Customer Experience Pillars
Renascence CX pillars where it can be applied most efficiently
- Integrity: Brands should transparently promise and consistently deliver ongoing value enhancements, significantly demonstrating authentic commitment to continuous customer satisfaction and building deep trust.
- Expectations: Clearly establishing and continuously meeting elevated customer expectations through innovation significantly sustains long-term emotional engagement, effectively combating hedonic adaptation.
- Resolution: Swiftly addressing dissatisfaction by quickly introducing new features or benefits significantly restores customer trust and satisfaction, demonstrating genuine care and commitment.
- Effort: Strategically reducing cognitive effort by regularly offering intuitive, enjoyable, and novel experiences significantly sustains customer interest, ease, and satisfaction.
- Emotions: Regularly introducing emotionally enriching experiences and pleasant surprises significantly strengthens customer bonds, prevents satisfaction decline, and effectively combats adaptation.
Customer Experience Interfaces
Interfaces & touchpoints where it can be applied most efficiently
- Digital: Constantly refreshing digital content and personalized recommendations significantly maintains excitement, engagement, and prevents emotional adaptation.
- Voice: Regularly updating and personalizing service interactions significantly sustains positive emotional responses and continuous satisfaction.
- Promo: Consistently introducing novel, exclusive promotions significantly prevents customer adaptation, enhancing continuous engagement and emotional excitement.
- Product: Frequent upgrades, new features, or experiential enhancements significantly maintain long-term emotional value and reduce rapid adaptation.
- Shelf: Regularly refreshed retail displays and new product offerings significantly maintain customer interest, engagement, and satisfaction.
Renascence Tip
To combat Hedonic Adaptation, brands must continuously introduce fresh, personalized, and emotionally rewarding experiences. Strategic, authentic innovation consistently refreshes satisfaction, sustains customer engagement, and ensures lasting loyalty.
