The Effects of Visual Complexity in a Fashion Store Environment on Consumer Emotions and Approach Behavior

Abstract

This study investigated the consumers' affective response to the visual complexity of a fashion retail environment both self-report and psychophysiological measures. We developed two types of virtual fashion stores with different levels of visual complexity, which were manipulated using decorative patterns and type of layout (grid vs. free form). The results showed that the fashion store's visual complexity was related to increases in arousal, but visual complexity has no main effect on pleasure. However, the moderating role of fashion involvement suggests that consumers with high fashion involvement exhibited more pleasure in a visually complex store than in a simple store. Additional analysis confirmed the moderated mediation effect of pleasure and mediation effect of arousal on relationships between stores' visual complexity and store attractiveness. The research findings obtained through the psychophysiological measures enrich existing literature on visual complexity and provide theoretical and managerial implications.