Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft (University of Münster)

Programm

Datum: 14. Dezember 2018

Zeit: 15.00 - 16.30 Uhr

Ort: Prof.-Huber-Pl. 2 (V), LEHRTURM-V005

Titel: On Your Wavelength? How the Interaction of Music and Light Influences Consumer Behavior

Abstract

In-store atmospherics are becoming increasingly important for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers seeking to create a positive store ambience and influence consumers’ in-store experience and behavior. Among the variety of different atmospheric stimuli, music and light are the ones that consumers encounter most often. While previous research has focused primarily on the main effects that these atmospheric stimuli have on consumer perceptions and behavior, only a few studies have investigated the potential interaction effects. This is surprising because, in practice, they tend to occur simultaneously; thus, consumers may be affected by the interplay. We draw on environmental psychology to investigate how the interaction of music and light affects consumers’ in-store behavior. Based on a lab and a field experiment, we show that the congruence between music and light — that is, fast/bright or slow/dim (vs. incongruence, i.e., fast/dim or slow/bright) – increases the time and money consumers spend in store. We elaborate on why congruence positively influences consumer behavior and show that it can be explained by the arousal effects of fast/slow music and bright/dim light. At a store-level perspective, our results reveal that atmospheric cue congruence increases the number of transactions and, thus, total sales (store performance). This study enhances our understanding of the interaction effects between multisensory atmospheric cues and highlights the role that coherence plays in creating a store’s ambience and influencing consumer behavior.