Warm glow

Another way consumers develop positive emotions is through interpersonal relations. According to Franze, brands gain success when their business models emphasize a collective feeling of "us" or "we," rather than you or me. A growing trend shows that people enjoy helping others, a phenomenon called warm glow. Warm glow can result from volunteering, donating, or spending money on others. In the study of Dunn et al., regardless of a country's economic level, consumers report they experience greater levels of happiness from prosocial spending than from self-purchases. For example, respondents who buy a gift bag for a sick child report being significantly happier than do those who purchase the same gift bag for themselves.

Self-determination theory explains when and why prosocial spending or giving leads to happiness. Self-determination theory proposes that an individual's well-being is dependent upon satisfaction of three basic needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. When it satisfies individuals' need for relatedness, helping others can be rewarding because prosocial spending allows the individuals to connect with others. Furthermore, the ability to pro-socially spend money can satisfy individuals' need for competence when they see the positive outcome of their actions. Lastly, the need for autonomy is satisfied when individuals have a choice about their actions. According to Weinstein and Ryan, experiencing happiness from donating money occurs only if the benefactor can freely choose how much to donate. Based on this theory, it can be assumed that consumers experience warm glow when they feel autonomous, related, and competent by doing something for others.