Consumer response to exterior atmospherics at a university-branded merchandise store

Hyllegard et al. Fash Text (2016) 3:4 DOI 10.1186/s40691-016-0056-y Open Access RESEARCH Consumer response to exterior atmospherics at a university‑branded merchandise store Karen H. Hyllegard*, Jennifer Paff Ogle, Ruoh‑Nan Yan and Kevin Kissell *Correspondence: Department of Design and Merchandising, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523‑1574, USA Abstract This study examined the influence of exterior store atmospherics upon college stu‑ dents’ responses to a university-branded merchandise store. The research was informed by Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) model, which proposes that consumers’ emotional responses to a physical store environment mediate how the environment shapes their patronage behaviors. An online survey with a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design component was implemented to explore the influence of three aspects of exterior store atmospherics (i.e., landscaping, store greeter, and electronic kiosk) upon three dependent variables: consumer emotional state (pleasure/arousal), consumer liking of the store exterior, and patronage intentions. The sample included 336 college students. Analyses provide support for the S–O–R model and related research; collectively, findings are consistent with the premise that pleasure and liking of the storefront exterior shape patronage intentions at a university-branded merchandise store. The exterior store atmospherics manipulated in the present study, however, did not positively influence consumers’ emotional states or liking. This study examined the influence of understudied aspects of exterior store atmospherics on consumers’ emotional states and liking as well as their patronage intentions toward a university-branded merchandise store. Contrary to prior work, findings provide evidence that, in some retail contexts, store greeters may generate negative responses from consumers. Keywords: Atmospherics, Retail, Landscaping, Store greeter, Electronic kiosk Introduction Store atmospherics impact consumers’ perceptions of value and store image as well as their retail choice and patronage intentions (Baker et al. 2002; Cornelius et al. 2010; Pan and Zinkhan 2006). Much of the research in the area of store atmospherics has focused upon consumer response to store interiors (see Mari and Poggesi 2013; Milliman and Turley 2000; Spence et al. 2014). An emerging body of work, however, has considered consumer response to exterior store atmospherics, which might be characterized as a store’s “curb appeal” (e.g., Cornelius et al. 2010; Mower et al. 2012; Oh and Petrie 2012). Exterior store atmospherics comprise such elements as a store’s signage, entryway, display windows, architectural features, landscaping, parking, and greeters (Arnold 2002; Otterbring et al. 2013; Turley and Milliman 2000). The purposeful manipulation of © 2016 Hyllegard et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Hyllegard et al. Fash Text (2016) 3:4 exterior atmospherics may represent a viable differentiation strategy in a competitive retail environment (Cornelius et al. 2010), especially for independent retailers operating in downtown shopping districts (Grewal et al. 2003; Mower et al. 2012), who may lack the visual brand recognition of national retailers. The present study, guided by Mehrabian and Russell’s S–O–R model (1974), explored how three exterior store atmospherics—landscaping, a store greeter, and an electronic kiosk—influenced college students’ emotional states and patronage intentions toward a university-branded (and owned) merchandise store (i.e., a retailer that sells collegiatelicensed merchandise). The S–O–R model is based upon the Stimulus–Organism– Response paradigm, which suggests that an individual’s responses (R) to the physical environment (S) are mediated by his/her emotional states (O). To date, researchers have not examined the role that exterior store atmospherics may play in shaping consumer behavior within the context of a University-branded merchandise store, even though purchases in these retail environments tend to be emotionally-driven (Greenberg 2013). Landscaping, a store greeter, and an electronic kiosk were selected for study because they represent under-studied variables in the store atmospherics literature. Further, all three represent exterior store elements that could readily be implemented by an independent retailer selling university-branded merchandise. As such, this study was informed by the S–O–R model as well as research exploring the specific store atmospheric variables considered in this study and the university-branded merchandise store. This literature provided a context for the examination of college students’ responses to the exterior retail environment of a store that sells university team-licensed merchandise. Literature review In varied contexts, landscaping, and flowers, in particular, has been found to elicit positive emotional responses in both men and women (Haviland–Jones et al. 2005). Much of the empirical research exploring the impact of landscaping upon consumer attitudes and behavior has focused upon the presence of trees in urban (i.e., main street) business districts. Findings from this literature reveal that the integration of trees into retail environments has the potential to provide pleasurable and restorative experiences for consumers as well as to increase consumer perceptions of retailers, store traffic, and product sales for merchants (see Joye et al. 2010 for a review of this work). In particular, the presence of trees has been associated with positive inferences about product value and quality as well as customer service and a greater willingness to pay more for products (Wolf 2005). Further, it has been suggested that flowers, plants, and other forms of landscaping may be used to enhance consumers’ perceptions of retail environments as well as to influence patronage intentions and/or behaviors (Bengman et al. 2012; Mower et al. 2012; Spence et al. 2014). For example, Bengman et al. (2012) discovered that the inclusion of greenery in the interior of a clothing store positively influenced consumers’ feeling of pleasure and subsequently their approach intentions in complex store environments, but not in simple store environments. Mower et al. (2012) found that exterior landscaping (i.e., “oversized glazed terra cotta planters with tiny purple and yellow flowers with ivy draping over the edge of the pot”) at a clothing store positively influenced consumers’ liking of the store as well as their patronage intentions (p. 447). Page 2 of 17 Hyllegard et al. Fash Text (2016) 3:4 Landsca (...truncated)