A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF AMBIENT FACTORS ON PATRONAGE: A CASE OF THREE FAST FOODS RETAIL BRANDS IN MASVINGO, ZIMBABWE
Keywords:
Fast food retail businesses, ambient and patronageAbstract
Academic researches on ambient factors have proliferated over the years, however very few studies on this area have focused on Fast Food Retail Businesses. This study therefore adopts a comparative approach to examining how the ambient variables (light, music, scent, and colour) affect customers’ patronage on these fast foods outlets. The focus of this paper is on the main Fast Food Retail outlets in Masvingo City (Zimbabwe), namely Chicken Inn, Food Express and Wimpy. In this study we employed a descriptive research design and the sample size was 150 respondents (90 males and 60 females) who were intercepted as they patronised these shops. The major finding of this paper is that even though we took a comparative approach to looking at the impact of ambient variables, the results confirm that indeed these have a positive effect on consumer patronage although with varying degrees of influence. Therefore, it is important that marketing practitioners are encouraged to consider the synergistic contribution of the ambient variables in order to create a comprehensively appealing environment for attracting patronage.
Downloads
References
Baker J, Grewal, D and Parasuraman, A. (1994), “The influence of store environment on quality inferences and store image Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science”, vol. 6, pp.107-113.
Bellizzi, J. A., Crowley, A. E. & Hasty, R. W. (1983), ‘The effects of color in store design’, Journal of Retailing, vol. 59, pp. 21-45.
Birren, F. (1987), Creative Color. A Dynamic Approach for Artists and Designers. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
Bitner, M. J. (1992), Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of Marketing 56, pp 57-71
Dubé, L. and Morin, S. (2001), “Background music, pleasure and store evaluation: Intensity effects and psychological mechanisms. Journal of Business Research. Vol. 54, no. 2, pp, 107- 113
Dube, L. Chebat, J. &Morin, S. (1995), Background music and consumers' desire to affiliate in buyer-seller interactions. Psychology and Marketing, 12(4), 305-319. Effects and psychological mechanisms”, Journal of Business Research, vol. 54, no. 2.
Feldman, R.S (2009), Understanding Psychology, 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Gilboa, S and Rafaeli, A. (2003), Store environment, emotions and approach behaviour: applying environmental aesthetics to retailing, International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol 13Issue April pp 195-211
Grewal, D., Baker, J., Levy, M. & Voss, G.B. (2002), “Wait expectations, store atmosphere and gender effects on store patronage intentions”, Electronic Business.
James and Mehrabian (1976), An approach to environmental psychology, Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.
Kellaris & Altech, (1992), The experience of time as a function of musical loudness and gender of listener. Advances in consumer research, 19, 725-729.
Kellaris & Kent, (1992), The influence of music on consumers‟ perceptions: Does time fly when you “re having fun? Journal of Consumer Psychology, 1(4), 365-376.
Lahey, B. B. (2009), Psychology: An Introduction. 10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Levy, M and Weitz, B. A. (2009), Retailing Management, 7th Edition. McGraw-Hill International Edition.
Lewison, D. M and DeLozier, M. W. (1986), Retailing. 3th Edition.Merrill Publishing Company.
Lovelock, C and Wirtz, J. (2011), Services Marketing. People, Technology, Strategy. 7th Edition. Pearson.
Machleit and Eroglu, (2000), “Human versus spatial dimensions of crowding perceptions in retail environments: a note on their measurement and effect on shopper satisfaction”, Marketing Letters, vol. 5, no. 2, pp.183-194.
Masson, J. B, Mayer, M. L. and Wilkinson, J. B. (1993), Modern Retailing: Theory and Practice. 6th Edition. Irwin.
Mattilia and Wirtz, (2001), Congruency of scent and music as a driver of in-store evaluations and behaviour. Journal of Retailing, 77, 273–289. McColl-Kennedy and Sparks, 2003.
Mehrabian & Russel, (1974), An approach to environmental psychology. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Milliman, (1982), Using background music to affect the behaviour of supermarket shoppers. Journal of Marketing, 46, 86-91.
Morrison and Beverland, (2011), “In-store music and aroma influences on shopper behavior and satisfaction”, Journal of Business Research, vol. 64, pp.558-564
Quartier, K., Christiaans, H. and Van Cleempoel, K. (2009), Retail design: lighting as an atmospheric tool, creating experiences which influence consumers’ mood and behaviour in commercial spaces. In: Undisciplined! Design Research Society Conference 2008, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK, 16-19 July 2008.
Spangenberb et al. (2005), It’s beginning to smell (and sound) a lot like Christmas the interactive effects of ambient scent and music in a retail setting. Journal of Business Research, 58, 1583-1589.
Vaccaro et al. (2008), The relationship of music-retail consistency and atmospheric lighting on consumer responses. Review of Business Research, 8 (5), 214-221.
White and White (2006), Advanced Art and Design, Philip Allan Updates.
