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Sensory stimuli and e‐tailers
Author(s) -
Parsons Andrew,
Conroy Denise
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of consumer behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.811
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1479-1838
pISSN - 1472-0817
DOI - 10.1002/cb.32
Subject(s) - extant taxon , sensory system , competitor analysis , advertising , context (archaeology) , set (abstract data type) , psychology , cognitive psychology , business , marketing , computer science , history , evolutionary biology , biology , programming language , archaeology
AbstractThis paper examines the use of sensory stimuli in the creation of store atmosphere in the online context. Parsons (2002) shows that online shoppers are motivated by many of the same non‐functional aspects of shopping as physical store shoppers (eg Tauber, 1972; Sheth, 1983), including sensory stimulation from aural and visual stimuli. This study investigates what customers desire from a virtual store atmosphere, and conducts an audit of the 15 top e‐tailers as ranked by Nielsen/NetRatings (2001) using the extant set of stimuli/responses established from the physical store literature. Findings suggest a strong desire from customers for sensory stimuli, with only partial matching by e‐tailers, and a surprising lack of differentiation among competitors. Examination of purchase responses to actual stimuli suggests a need for e‐tailers to match consumers' desires. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.