The physical environment that purchases occur influences the behavior of customers. Various psychological studies have shown that the environment in which interaction takes place influences the behavior of humans. As stated earlier, individuals can either show approach or avoidance behaviors. The approach behaviors include the desire to affiliate, explore, stay, and work. The negative behaviors, on the other hand, reflect the opposite. The customer perceptions on the environment influence various approach behaviors such as the enjoyment of shopping, the establishment of friendly relationships with others, store exploration, and frequent returns. Most organizations commit themselves to the …show more content…
Cognition is an important factor because it influences beliefs concerning a place and the products and services found in it. Therefore, the environment acts as a type of nonverbal communication. Studies on consumer behavior have found that the conditions of a store impacts perceptions on the quality of a product. Consequently, perceptions on servicescape help in distinguishing an organization by influencing how customers categorize it. The perception of a servicescape determines how an employee or a consumer categorizes an organization mentally (Jones & Peter 100). This implies that the cues within an environment serve as a mnemonic device in influencing how an organization is perceived (Bitner …show more content…
Studies done by Russell and other researchers have concluded that the influences of environment on emotions take place in two dimensions (Russell & Jacalyn 1987).
These are arousal degree and pleasure-displeasure. This implies that any environment can influence human emotions. The emotions that are influenced by the environment can be used to predict behaviors. For example, people usually spend more time and money in environments that arouse their emotions. Furthermore, people tend to avoid environments that are associated with displeasure. The personal control perceptions in crowded environments increase pleasure. Other environmental aspects such as adequate space and proper ventilation increase the personal control perceptions (Bitner 1992).
The emotional responses to the environment can be transferred to other people and objects within a particular environment. An example is in the 1984 research by Obermiller in which respondents who considered a specific servicescape to be pleasing evaluated its products positively while those who found it displeasing evaluated the products negatively (Obermiller et al. 1984). There are three key dimensions that determine the liking or disliking of a particular environment. They are; coherence, complexity, and mystery. Studies on the three dimensions have revealed that complexity increases arousal while coherence influences positive evaluation. Furthermore, compatibility