THE EFFECT OF VISUAL ATMOSPHERIC CUES ON COMFORT BUYING BEHAVIOURS OF CONSUMERS IN RETAIL STORES
THE EFFECT OF VISUAL ATMOSPHERIC CUES ON COMFORT BUYING BEHAVIOURS OF CONSUMERS IN RETAIL STORES

Summary/Abstract: People routinely engage in shopping for discerning needful, self-gratification, hedonic reasons and other factors, which are basically driven by the state of mind. This study investigates the effect of visual atmospheric cues on comfort buying in Shoprite retail stores in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. Consequently, this study explored the influence of visual atmospherics such as colour, typography, images, advertisement and wayfinding signage’s on the consumers’ behaviours and shopping destinations. Purposive sampling technique was used in the distribution of a structured questionnaire to three hundred (300) shoppers. Both descriptive and inferential statistic were employed for data analysis using Statistical Package for Social Science version 19. The study revealed that consumers often engage in retail therapy, while visual atmospheric cues mediate an enjoyable shopping experience. The study also showed that colour usage on advertisement posters greatly influenced consumers’ behaviour as compared to texts and pictures. Further, red and blue colours made significant contributions to aesthetically pleasing retail environment. Shoppers mostly patronize clothing and apparel products when engaging in comfort buying. The regression analysis conducted showed visual atmospheric cues statistically influence shoppers’ behaviours (F=117.882, p=0.000). The study recommended that the psychological desires of potential shoppers must be considered in the planning and designing of a retail environment, an in depth knowledge of colours moods is essential in the application of colours in a retail environment, and lighting display in a retail environment should be attractive and sensational.

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