Atmospheric Characteristics Influencing Consumer’s Appreciation of Dutch Inner City Shopping Areas

Ingrid Janssen ERES Annual Meeting July 5th 2013

Authors

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Aloys BorgersPauline van de BergWouter DijkmanTim Op HeijRick WillemsJustin ElemansOnno SaesRobin TiktakIngrid Janssen

Agenda• Introduction• Research question and conceptual model• Methodology• Selection of study areas• Results• Conclusions and discussion

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Introduction: vacancy

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Consumer spending declines

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Spendings non food

Consumer confidence

Leisure offers new chances?

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Leisure offers new chances?

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“Funshopper abandons shopping areas”

“Funshopping loses ground in Leisure market”

“Number of shopping center visitors declining”

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Adding experiential value: a solution?

Research question

Which – and how do –atmospherics of an inner city shopping area contribute to the experiential value of the consumer?

Sub question:Which role do age, gender and motivation have in this context?

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Research question and conceptual model

Which – and how do –atmospherics of an inner city shopping area contribute to the experiential value of the consumer?

Sub question:Which role do age, gender and motivation have in this context?

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Atmospherics

Literature review

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Atmospherics

Accessibility

Shop offer

Vacancy

Leisure / restaurants

Service level

Shape facades

Material of facades

Material of pavements

Colour of facades

Colour of pavements

Amount of light

Background noise

Music

Smell

Indoor

Impact greenery

Street furniture

Shop windows

Advertisement signs

Tidiness

Width of the street

Height of the buildings

Width to height ratio

Crowdedness

Other visitors

Colour of the light

Elevation

Which – and how do –atmospherics of an inner city shopping area contribute to the experiential value of the consumer?

Sub question:Which role do age, gender and motivation have in this context?

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Atmospherics Experiential value

Research question and conceptual model

Which – and how do –atmospherics of an inner city shopping area contribute to the experiential value of the consumer?

Sub question:Which role do age, gender and motivation have in this context?

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Atmospherics Experiential value

Interactions

Research question and conceptual model

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Atmospherics Experiential value

Interactions

Motivation: Utilitarian

Hedonic

Demographics: Age (generation Y, generation X, baby boomers

and builder generation)

Gender

Income

Education

Research question and conceptual model

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Selection study areas

Selection criteria

Variation characteristics within cities

Variation characteristics between the cities

Eindhoven

Dordrecht

Breda‘s-Hertogenbosch

Maastricht

Selection study areas

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4. Mosea Forum

Maastricht3. Entre Deux

2. Stokstraat

1. Maastrichter Brugstraat

Stokstraat, Maastricht

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Mosae Forum, Maastricht

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Response

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Total asked: 4249

Non response: 2087

Response: 2162

-

700

1462

MaleFemale

204

748

197176

321

295

219<1818-2526-3536-4546-5556-65>65

636

870

392

257

Utilitarian

Hedonic

Both

Other

MotivationAge

Gender

Analysis techniques

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Decision Tree Analyses

Structural Equation

Modelling

Discrete ChoiceModels

Assessments Preferences

EXPERIENTIAL VALUE

Decision tree analysis

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Decision tree analysisSome results:

• Distance to parking should be < 30 meters• The more fashion and luxury shops the better• The more restaurants, the better• ‘Diverse historic shaped’ facades are appreciated better,

specially in combination with rough pavement• Presence of street furniture, greenery and music is positive• The better the mood of the respondent the better the

assessment

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Structural equation modeling

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Structural equation modelingSome results:

• Shop offer is the most important variable• Shop window has a high influence on the general opinion• Indoor is preferred above outdoor shopping• High-income respondents are more negative

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Discrete choice analysisThe most favorite shop location:

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1. Indoor

2. Diverse & non-historical facades

3. Striking advertisement signs

4. Diverse & historical facades

5. Two or more restaurants or leisure facilities

6. Smooth pavements

7. Number of other shops (telecom, toy store)

Discrete choice analysisThe most atmospheric shop location:

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1. Striking advertisement signs

2. Rough pavements

3. Indoor location

4. Diverse & historical facades

5. Number of restaurants

6. High visual impact greenery

7. Number of fashion and luxury shops

8. Number of other shops

Conclusions• Three techniques show different results• Consistency: Shop offer, indoor / outdoor & material of

pavements are related to experiential value• Models show moderate fit• The most favorite shop location ≠ the most atmospheric

shop location• Hardly any difference between hedonic and utilitarian

motivated shoppers

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Discussion• It is all about the shop offer….• Atmosphere and experience is not the same• Experience and functionality are strongly related• We need another approach to explain the concept of

experience and atmosphere

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