Transformational escapes: Accessing consumer transformation through extraordinary experiences

Abstract

Previous research implies that the transformational potential of extraordinary experiences arises from the engagement with the experiential context, although we still do not know how this process happens and to what extent it changes consumers. In this article, we explore the processes by which consumers transform themselves through extraordinary experiences and the characteristics of such a transformation. Based on a three‐year ethnography in the context of marathon running, we identified the three processes that engender consumer transformation: the physical transformation process, the mental transformation process, and the discursive transformation process. These processes are sheltered by the transformational escape, defined as the consumption setting that integrates structural and antistructural features through the engagement of consumers' routine with the extraordinary experience, enabling consumer transformation. We extend current theorizations by revealing the dynamics that elongate extraordinary experience duration, enable the dynamic between routine and extraordinary experience, and enlarge the reach of consumer transformation.