With the rapid change of society, the frequency of individual role transitions has also increased significantly. Such transitions exert profound impacts on individuals' psychology and behavior. However, existing literature provides limited targeted research on this topic. This study focuses on the impact of role transition, a pivotal life event for consumers, on their product preferences. Based on five experimental studies, it was demonstrated that role transitions can effectively enhance consumers' preferences for high-effort products and the mediating role of perceived role difficulty was tested, while excluded the alternative explanations of self-concept clarity, dialectical thinking, perceived control, desirability concerns, and fresh start mindset. In addition, this study also found that the effect is moderated by the reversibility of role transitions, that is, the effect of role transitions on the purchase intention for high-effort products is weakened (enhanced) when the role transition is temporary (permanent). The research findings expand the relevant research on role transition and provide valuable insights for businesses to identify target audiences and develop differentiated advertising strategies based on role transition context.