Marketing Communications

400 CHAPTER 12 BRAND ACTIVATION

Store atmospherics

Besides the POP communications tools discussed above, store atmospherics need to be

mentioned as a specifi c aspect of POP communications. Atmospherics can be defi ned as

the eff ort to design buying environments to produce specifi c emotional eff ects in the buyers

that enhance their purchase probability.^73 As a store’s atmosphere is appreciated through

the senses, sensory aspects are considered the typical dimensions of store atmosphere (see

Figure 12.11 ). Taste is not usually considered a meaningful dimension of the store atmosphere

since one cannot taste an atmosphere. However, some food stores are renowned for their

in-store ‘degustations’, which may in that case be regarded as an atmospheric dimension for

these food retailers.

Th e atmosphere adds a valuable characteristic to the product and serves three main func-

tions.^74 Firstly, the atmosphere can generate attention by using specifi c colours, music, etc.,

which make a store stand out. Secondly, the atmosphere creates a message by using the

atmospheric characteristics in such a way that they express, for example, the intended store

audience. Th irdly, the atmosphere arouses people, which may tip the scale in favour of buying

certain products or brands ( Figure 12.12 ).^75

In-store displays have proven their effectiveness to draw shoppers’ attention to specific products in brick-and-

mortar stores. Promotional signs and in-store ads are also becoming more and more popular in online grocery

stores. As compared with offline POP advertising, online POP ads have several additional advantages: (1) they are

very low cost; (2) they are very flexible (a simple mouse click can change the content and place of a display); and

(3) they can be customised to the individual customer.^71 Further, a recent study shows that in-store displays in

online grocery stores can generate an increase in brand sales of up to 106%. Comparing brand and category-level

effects, the results show that brand-switching takes a much bigger share of the increased sales than new comers to

the category. In correspondence with offline in-store displays, in online settings the location also matters. Displays

that are shown first and in an isolated position are more effective. More specifically, the effect of a display shown

on the first screen is twice as large as the one for an aisle display. The latter in turn enhances brand sales to a larger

extent than shelf tag displays.^72

RESEARCH INSIGHT

In-store displays in a virtual store environment

Figure 12.11 Dimensions of store atmosphere

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