A shop to remember : the interplay of color, music, and shopping motivation on consumer's response and memory in a retail setting

To date, a number of atmospheric stimuli have been shown to affect consumers’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. In the present study, these atmospherics effects are integrated and extended by incorporating memory into Mehrabian-Russell (M-R) Model. Specifically, this study experimentally investigates the effects of two different atmospheric stimuli––in-store music and store interior color––and motivational orientation on consumers’ emotional states, behavioral responses, and memories in a retail setting. Realistic 3D visualization video simulations of a fictitious clothing store and role-playing scenarios are employed to simulate the situation. A 2 (music: stimulating vs. calming) x 2 (color: blue vs. red) x 2 (shopping motivation: task-oriented vs. recreational consumer) between-subjects factorial design is implemented to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that shopping motivation moderates the effect of store color on emotional states and behavioral responses. While task-oriented consumers show greater approach tendency for the blue-colored store, recreational consumers tend to approach the red-colored one. Furthermore, consumers’ memories are marginally enhanced in the red-colored, as compared to the blue-colored, store environment. Nevertheless, the presence of stimulating music lowers dominance and, in turn, negatively affects consumer behavioral responses. These findings are discussed along with the methodological limitations and potential implications for retail practitioners.