Assignment 4: Chapter 13: Situational Influences
- 1. Physical Surroundings
-Store atmosphere – all the physical features of a retail environment (Restaurant, Best buy, Kiosks)
• a. Called (Servicescape) when referring to a service environment.
(Physical surrounding where a service is being delivered).
-Atmospherics –
• b. the process used to manipulate the physical environment to create specific consumer responses
(Attempting to design and manipulate the environment to create specific consumer responses).
(Intentional control and structure of the environment for marketers.
Can have both Functional & Affective Qualities:
• • Functional Qualities – How u function?
• – characteristics that facilitate & make efficient the consumers’ tasks/activities
• – (Music, Aromas, Display of Merchandise)
• – (Use the product, Make a Purchase)
• • Affective Qualities – How u feel?
• – characteristics that influence the consumers’ emotions and feelings
• • E.g., a restaurant – Designed for both facilitating and comforting there visitors, whether they need to use the rest room or to be seated comfortably.
(Is the environment exciting? Restaurant designs a romantic setting for their restaurant (Different lighting and paintings on the wall)
• • Factors that marketers should consider in creating the retail surroundings
• – Fit: How appropriate the elements of a given environment are for that specific setting (High end jewelry store – Do physical elements and products being sold fit the overall marketing of that location.
• – Congruity: How consistent the elements of an environment are with one another (Do all the elements the marketers have under their control consistent).
We define situational influence as all those factors particular to a time and place that
do not follow from a knowledge of the stable attributes of the consumer and the stimulus
and that have an effect on current behavior
The sum of all the physical features of a retail environment is referred to as the store
atmosphere or environment ). Store atmosphere influences consumer
judgments of store quality and image. It also has been shown to influence shoppers’ moods
and their willingness to visit and linger. Atmospherics is the process managers use to
manipulate the physical retail environment to create specific mood responses in shoppers.
14 Atmospherics is also important online and is receiving increasing attention from
marketers.15
Atmosphere is referred to as servicescape when describing a service business such as
a hospital, bank, or restaurant.
-Consumers perception of how crowded it is.
• Crowding: Includes people & merchandise. Influenced by the marketer! – Design of the store
• Interesting: Impact is Nonlinear!! (More Crowded, Less desireable)
• Perception of being crowded, confined, or claustrophobic = unpleasant
• Consumers will take steps:
– spend less time in the store
– buying less, make faster decisions, use less information.
• Result: less satisfactory purchases, reduced likelihood of returning to the store
Sample Solution