Prior research shows that in-store displays have a significant effect on product sales, but no study so far has measured this effect using a qualitative approach that considers the size of the in-store display or its general theme. In this study, a smartphone-based user generated contents (UGC) was used to encourage consumers to post about the in-store displays they liked. This study investigates the relationship between the qualitative content of in-store displays and the sales of the products featured in such displays, and the relationship between posts or likes and the sales of the products featured in the posted liked display. We examine the effects of the contents of in-store display on sales and the mediation effect of the POST or LIKE on these relationship. As the result, this study is the first to explicate the difference of the mediation effect of post on sales by the type of the content of the in-store display. Specifically, the following three aspects were elucidated: (1) “Seasonality” drives user posting on UGC and such posts contribute to increased sales, (2) “Mass” both directly contributes to increased sales and also promotes user postings on UGC, which contribute to increase sales, and (3) “Character” directly influences sales but does not contribute to sales through postings. This study also provides important managerial implications. The results highlight the role of the content of in-store displays in promoting sales. Specifically, if the goal is to simply increase sales, a character themed in-store display will suffice. If the goal is to induce postings to UGC, which will result in increased sales, then a seasonally themed in-store display will work. In this way, expanding consideration to the qualities of in-store displays makes it possible to develop a more strategic understanding of their effects rather than the simple on/off or numerical frequency approach of the past. It must be taken into account that the type of in-store display content that is called for will differ according to whether the objective is to simply increase sales or to also attempt to create WOM promotion.

• Takashi Teramoto(Yokohama National University, Japan)
• Akira Shimizu(Keio University, Japan)