Title: Beauty in the eyes of the beholder: a meta-analytic review of the effect of design atmospherics on shopping outcomes

Authors: Stephen Oduro; Alessandro De Nisco

Addresses: Faculty of Economics, University of International Studies of Rome, UNINT, Italy ' Faculty of Economics, University of International Studies of Rome, UNINT, Italy

Abstract: Informed by consumer behaviour theories, this study aims to provide a quantitative review of the effect of four selected design atmospherics - colour, lighting, store-layout, and product display - on three shopping outcomes - approach behaviour, behavioural intentions, and emotional states in retail, service, and online settings. Methodologically, 76-independent articles were analysed using both subgroup and meta-analytic regression analyses from 1980-2019. Results showed that product display yields the highest ratings on shopping outcomes (r = 0.28), followed by colour (r = 0.24), layout (r = 0.23), and lighting (r = 0.22). Moreover, findings divulged that the aggregate effect of design atmospherics on behavioural intentions (r = 0.32) is larger than on approach behaviour (r = 0.22) and on emotional states (r = 0.21). The moderator analysis unveiled that shopping setting, experimental design, store format, and study design significantly account for between-study variance. These results offer useful insights regarding future research avenues and underline relevant managerial implications for designing and managing physical stores, services, and e-commerce websites.

Keywords: design-atmospherics; shopping-outcomes; meta-analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEMR.2024.135529

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing, 2024 Vol.15 No.1, pp.107 - 137

Received: 30 Aug 2021
Accepted: 17 Mar 2022
Published online: 18 Dec 2023 *

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