Influence of atmospheric cues on the consumers' behaviour: moderating effects of the aesthetic centrality of the store and the purpose of the visit

Abstract

In this research, we have focused on the study of the influence of the olfactory, auditory and visual factors on the approach or avoidance behaviour of the shoppers. To reach our goal, we have collected data using an online questionnaire on 152 people visiting cosmetics stores. The results have shown that the environmental factors like smell, music, or lighting can affect the emotional responses in different ways: odours can influence pleasure, music influences pleasure and arousal and lighting influences arousal. In addition, it's important to point to the fact that only the arousal felt at the store influences the approach and avoidance behaviour. Our analysis indicates that the emotional responses play a mediating role between the auditory and visual factor and the customer's approach or avoidance behaviour. Our research also considers the interactions of atmospheric cues, as well as the moderator effect of two variables: the aesthetic centrality of the store and the purpose of the visit.