Retailenvironment
Design factors
e.g.Layouts
Signs
Textures
Displays
Ambient factors
e.g.Music
Lighting
Colours
Scents
Socialfactors
e.g.Staff
ShoppersTargetshoppers
Socio-economic
e.g.Age
Income
Sex
Lifestyle
e.g.Time-poor
Trendy
Parsimonious
Expectations
e.g.Shopping
ExperienceEmotionalstates
!
!
!
!
!Pleased
Aroused
Excited
Proud
AngryDirectexperiences
!
!
!
!Comfortable
Efficient
Well informed
FriendlyImagesformed
!
!
!
!
!Reliable
Modern
Fashionable
High status
EconomicalImmediateoutcomes
!
!
!
!More enjoyment
Staylonger
Less stress
Spend moreLonger-term outcomes
!
!
!Repeatvisit
Go more often
Recommend storeRetailing 797
Models developed in the broader field of
environmental psychology have been applied
extensively to the retail environment, measur-
ing for example the effects of atmospherics
upon the customer’s level of pleasure and
arousal. Figure 30.9 illustrates how some of the
environmental elements influence the emo-
tions, experiences and images formed. These, in
turn, can influence the immediate and long-
term outcomes, in terms of the loyalty of target
customers.
Service and customer care
In spite of all that has been written and
preached about retail service in recent years,
the concept remains ill-defined and, accord-
ingly, difficult to measure. Part of the problem
lies in the word itself, retailing involving
service(s) at various different levels:1 Retailing as a service industry, along with
banking, catering, travel, etc.
2 Retailing as a service, bringing a combination
of products together in a convenient location,
within a pleasant environment, open long
hours.
3 Services that retailers may or may not offer,
such as free carriers, bag packing, credit/debit
card payments, etc.
4 Quality of service provided, i.e. doing it well,
reliability, etc.At the second level of definition, retailers have
sought to enhance temporal accessibility, as
well as geographical accessibility. FollowingFigure 30.9 Influences of retail environments
Source: McGoldrick (2002).