Impact of Music and Colour on Customers’ Emotional States: An Experimental Study of Online Store

Abstract

Retailers try their best to make their online store environment more entertaining and attractive to capture customers’ attention. Therefore, it is interesting and beneficial to explore how the store environment impacts the customer emotions in store and how these emotions change customer’s buying behaviour. The main focus of this study is to measure the impact of atmosphere cues, such as colour and music on respondent’s emotional response and their shopping behaviour in an online store. Respondents were exposed to different combinations of music and colour, and both cues had significant impacts on the respondent’s emotional response and behavioural intention. The questionnaire responses of 230 valid respondents from Pakistan revealed that cool colours and fast tempo music showed greater levels of pleasure and arousal as compared to slow tempo music with warm colours. Arousal and pleasure were also found to be significant parameters for predicting behaviour intention. Respondent’s in fast tempo music with cool colour environment showed more approach behaviour in comparison to slow tempo music with warm colours. An efficient online store environment is proposed, incorporating suitable music and colour attributes that will result in more time spent in-store, repurchasing, and revisiting. The outcomes of the study assist online retailers in Pakistan to make the shopping environment attractive and enjoyable.