IMPACT OF SENSORY FEATURES ON MALL PATRONAGE

Abstract

Atmospherics refer to the tailoring of shopping environment quality to arouse shoppers’ emotions and excitement levels. The incorporation of sensory features into the atmosphere of the mall increases desirability and builds a sensory, emotional and cognitive linkage between the mall and consumers, conferring a sustainable competitive advantage. Past research focused primarily on the use of atmospherics in stores or the impact of individual atmospheric variables. This study aims to investigate how atmospherics encompassing visual, tactile, olfactory and aural dimensions, interact and contribute to increase chances of mall success, in terms of enhancing the image of a mall, duration of shopping time and patronage. Additionally, the study explores the popularity of city and suburban malls and determines whether suburban malls with better atmospherics would be a preferred choice for consumers compared to city malls with worse atmospherics. Shoppers from eight malls were surveyed and results showed that presence of better sensory features enhances shoppers’ perception of the mall and increase their duration of stay. Among the atmospheric factors, the 3 most essential ones are comfort, sight and touch. Furthermore, malls with better sensory features attract a higher mall patronage than those with worse sensory features. Even though city malls generally attract higher patronage than suburban malls, suburban malls with better sensory features are capable of attracting higher mall patronage than city malls with worse sensory features. The valuable insights on the use and importance of sensory features can be used for branding or maximizing the attractiveness of malls to stand out amongst keen competition.