She graduated with a PhD in Business Administration from Duke University in 2017. Hillary Wiener's research focuses on the link between consumption behavior and the social connections between people. Her research looks at the role of conversation pieces in facilitating conversations between strangers and thus the formation of new relationships. She also studies gift giving, looking at gifts as a form of social support and examines the role that gifts of consolation can play in relationship maintenance. Her research has been published in Psychology and Marketing and in the American Journal of Psychology.