KOREASCHOLAR

Although people generally do not pay much attention to scent, background music (BGM), color, etc. in retail or service environments, these in-store factors could potentially have a subtle yet powerful influence on customers. Through two experiments, this research examined whether the scent and music made people feel physically warm or cool, and their effect on the participants’ perception of space and social density. Regarding to participants’ subjective perception of temperature, between the warm scent (vanilla) and the cool scent (peppermint), and between the warm music (Träumerei by Schumann) and the cool music (Vocalise by Rachmaninov) are not significantly different. But I could observe that people in warm conditions felt physically warm compare to cool conditions. And there was a significant difference on participants’ perception of space and density. People in the vanilla-scented environment felt that the capacity of the room was smaller, the space was tighter, and the social density was higher. In the case of the music, the results were the same. People in the room with Träumerei as a BCM felt that the room was smaller, the space was tighter, and the social density was higher. Moreover, people in warm conditions chose a cold or room temperature drink when I offered three drink options (cold, warm, room temperature) as a token of my gratitude. In addition to the effect to perception, I found that people in warm conditions (both scent and music) were more persuaded by commercial message than in cool conditions. These results would contribute to expand our knowledge of store atmospherics and customer experience through ambient scent and BGM.

• Atsuko Inoue(Seikei University, Japan)