The Influence of Store Atmospherics on Consumer Buying Behaviour in Clothing Stores

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21887033

Sheila Kwenda¹, Faith Rudairo Chibvura², and Ravinder Rena³ (Department of Marketing and Retail Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa^1,2, and Department of Public Management and Economics, Faculty of Management Sciences, Durban University of Technology ML Sultan Campus, Durban, Republic of South Africa³)

Store atmospherics refer to the ambient designs of a retail space aimed at eliciting emotional responses from consumers to facilitate purchasing decisions, as well as the physical attributes of the store that cultivate an appealing image to attract clientele. Clothing retailers use distinctive store ambient cues to attract customers and differentiate themselves from rivals. The study’s primary goal was to find out how various store ambient cues affect customers’ attitudes and purchasing decisions in Durban’s clothing retailers. Since this investigation is quantitative, a descriptive survey was used. Four hundred Durban apparel store patrons made up the study’s sample size. The sample was chosen via non-probability sampling. The research tool was a structured questionnaire comprising scaled answer and closed-ended questions. According to this study, customer views and purchasing behaviour are most influenced by fitting rooms, product displays, and cleanliness. The findings also showed that most customers are satisfied with the store atmosphere cues offered by the Durban clothes retailers they have chosen, and they will keep going, spend more time there, and tell their friends and family about their businesses. Therefore, it is advised that clothes stores keep on making investments in store ambient cues, with a particular emphasis on fitting rooms and product displays.