Exploring the influence of multisensory experiences on consumer evaluation of cold tea

Abstract

The objective of this article was to investigate the impact of different environments and levels of immersion on consumer evaluation of two different cold teas and consumers’ overall consumption experience. To achieve this, two factors were manipulated: 1) The type of environment − café and park versus neutral environment − and 2) the type of multisensory experience (a) without sensory immersion, b) visual immersion, and c) full immersion, including visual, auditory, and olfactory cues. We assessed spontaneous reactions to the environments and to the cold mint teas, liking of the cold teas, consumer satisfaction with the environment, and overall consumer experience across different conditions. A total of 182 participants divided across environments took part in the study. No significant differences in liking scores were observed between environments, with the type of mint tea being the main influencing factor. However, the different words elicited by each tea in the neutral and café environments suggested an influence of context on the perception of sensory attributes, evocations and cold mint tea discrimination. Additionally, significant effects of environment types and immersion levels on satisfaction and overall experience scores were found. These findings underlined the importance of considering multisensory and immersive aspects, as well as social interactions, when recreating consumption experiences. Eventually, our study discussed the standardization of physical contexts and raised questions about what contributes most to multisensory experiences in several recreated situations of consumption.