Comfort in brick and mortar shopping experiences: Examining antecedents and consequences of comfortable retail experiences |
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| Institution: | 1. Ara Institute of Canterbury, 130 Madras St., Christchurch 8011, New Zealand;2. The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5091, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA;1. Monash Business School, Monash University, Level 5, Building S, Caulfield Campus, 26 Sir John Monash Drive, Caulfield East, VIC 3145 Melbourne, Australia;2. Monash Business School, Monash University, Level 11, Building 20 (Menzies Building), Clayton Campus, Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC 3168 Melbourne, Australia;3. Griffith Business School, University of Griffith, Gold Coast Campus, QLD 4222, Business School (G.42) Room 7.07, Brisbane, Australia;1. The Institute of Strategy and Management, Norwegian School of Economics, Helleveien 30, Bergen 50345, Norway;2. The Institute of Strategy and Management, Norwegian School of Economics, Helleveien 30, Bergen 5045, Norway;1. Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6;2. DeGroot School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S4M4 |
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| Abstract: | This paper explores the comfort construct in brick and mortar retail settings. As a psychological construct, consumer comfort reflects a sense of ease and peace of mind during a shopping experience. Previous research suggests comfort carries a number of positive consequences for managers, such as strengthening customer relationships and increasing customer satisfaction (Gaur and Xu, 2009). However, these studies take a more interpersonal relationship theory approach and have not considered the impact of non-social aspects of retail environments on consumers' comfort. Moreover, these extant studies have not considered how comfortable environments create value for consumers. Consequently, this study examines how atmospheric elements contribute to creating consumer comfort, and how comfort impacts consumers' perceptions of shopping value. Findings from survey data demonstrate that not all atmospheric elements influence consumers' comfort levels. Moreover, comfortable environments were found to increase both utilitarian value and hedonic value. The implications of the findings for academics and managers are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Consumer comfort Retail atmosphere Shopping value Shopping behavior |
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