The effects of retail store characteristics on in-store leisure shopping experience.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of store characteristics (i.e. product availability, product quality, store layout, employee politeness, décor, music, lighting, and aroma) on the various dimensions of in-store leisure shopping experience (i.e. hedonic, flow, escapism, challenge, learning, socialising, and communitas).Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve the study’s objectives, a quantitative on-site survey was conducted. Respondents were interviewed upon exiting fashion retail stores.Findings Findings indicate that not all store characteristics impact the various dimensions of experience in the same way. Product quality and in-store music were found to be the most important in-store characteristics that affected the majority of experience dimensions. Other important store attributes that emerged were store layout and ambient scent. Conversely, product range actually had a negative impact on in-store experience.Practical implications By orchestrating the most influential in-store characteristics, fashion retailers could be delivering unique in-store experiences to their customers. This research shows that they would benefit from designing experiential strategies that focus on merchandise quality, price, and availability while simultaneously carefully managing ambient (music and scent) alongside design factors (store layout and décor). Careful consideration should be paid to merchandise variety in order to avoid potentially negative effects on customers’ shopping experience.Originality/value Until now most studies that document the relationship between store elements and shopping experiences have examined the effects of store characteristics on a limited number of experience dimensions. This study adds to the body of research into in-store leisure shopping experience in two ways: by shedding light on its multi-dimensional nature, and by analysing the effect of the different store elements on the various components of the in-store experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]