Store environment and consumer purchase behavior: Mediating role of consumer emotions

TLDR

The study investigates how store environment and consumer emotions influence various dimensions of purchase behavior, using a large-scale cross‑sectional field study with actual shopping behavior as an example. The authors conducted a large‑scale cross‑sectional field study, applying a stimulus–organism–response framework to examine how store environment and consumer emotions affect purchase behavior. The study found that consumer emotions mediate the purchase process, with pleasure associated with higher spending and store affinity, and arousal linked to increased spending, time, and number of items, while cognitive factors mainly drive store selection and planned purchases. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Abstract

This article presents a large-scale cross-sectional field study of the effect of store environment on consumer emotions and the resulting influence on aspects of consumer behavior with actual shopping behavior used as an example. Cast into a stimulus–organism–response framework, the results suggest that a consumer's emotions can be a mediating factor in the purchase process. In this study, we identify and explore how store environment and emotional states may influence various dimensions of purchase behavior. This research confirms that although cognitive factors may largely account for store selection and for most planned purchases within the store, the environment in the store and the emotional state of consumers may be important determinants of purchase behavior. This research has many pragmatic applications, because pleasure was associated with the amount of money spent and affinity for the store, whereas arousal was associated with money spent in the store, time spent in the store, and the number of items purchased in the store. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.