The effect of environmental stimulus on consumer behaviour

In the competitive world of retail, the battle for consumer attention does not end with advertising campaigns or promotional discounts - it continues in the subtle design of “retail environmental stimulus”. This matrix may consist of lighting, sound, smell and together they are not just aesthetic choices, but strategic tools backed by empirical evidence. 

An experiment in the 90s found that when classical music is played in a wine cellar, customers are more likely to purchase more expensive wines compared to when Top 40 music is played. More specifically, customers who walked into classical music playing in the background spent on average $17, whereas customers who walked into mainstream music playing in the background only spent $4.8. 

Customers spend more money when classical music is played in a wine cellar

There are several explanations for this psychological phenomenon.

• Firstly, researchers theorised that customers often associate classical music with affluence and wealth - and this association “primes” them to spend more money.

  
  

• The second theory suggests that a particular music genre being played will stimulate a specific emotional response. For example, classical music’s mathematical rhythm leads to excitement in customers, thus increasing the chance of impulsive purchases. 

Similar to sound, ambient odours have also been proven to influence consumers’ emotions, cognition and spending. In 2003, two researchers Chebat & Michon conducted a 2-week field experiment where they diffused a citrus scent into a Canadian shopping mall during the first week, then stopped the scent in the second week. No customers were aware of the experiment being conducted, or that the scents were being released. Chebat & Michon handed out questionnaires to customers who visited the mall during these 2 weeks asking about their shopping trip, their evaluation of the mall’s atmosphere and their perception of the merchandises' quality. Data collected by the questionnaire revealed that customers who shopped during the week when citrus scent was present evaluated the mall’s atmosphere as “more expensive”, and “higher quality”. 

Shoppers in a mall infused with citrus scent perceive it as "luxury"

Turns out we have less free will than we thought. A decision as simple as buying new clothes or shoes could have been under the influence of atmospheric smell or sound manipulated by sellers. Academically, this would suggest that our behaviour as consumers or ordinary human beings, is “deterministic” - supporting one side of the most significant debate in the history of human psychology. However, in everyday life context, recognising our lack of free will may help us be more aware of the seller’s tactics and become a smarter, more educated consumer. Knowing manipulation tactics would decrease the likelihood of us being manipulated. In this way, we may gain more free will & personal autonomy in our everyday consumption.

As marketers, this psychological knowledge has a much more substantial real-life application than it may seem. Dunkin’ Donuts South Korea had the famous “Flavor Radio” campaign where coffee aroma was released in buses when the jingle played, which led to a reported 29% lift in coffee sales near stops. Taking advantage of neuromarketing can offer great benefits to sellers such as generating higher sales or improving customers' liking of the store - especially when traditional forms of marketing have become homogeneous and more identifiable over time.

By Hoang Minh Tue (Sophie)