Trinh, Trang (2016) An Experimental Study: Ambient Scent, Competition, and Human Crowding in the Retail Environment. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the topic of human crowding in the retail environment and the affective and behavioural consequences it has on consumers. We are particularly interested in whether the arousal component of two different scents (lavender and grapefruit) and the presence or absence of competition, reduces the dissatisfaction and avoidance behaviour that consumers display when they experience human crowding.
Results support our hypothesis and show that a relaxing scent could be used to control for human crowding. The negative effects of human crowding are mitigated in the condition where the pleasing properties of the environmental manipulation (i.e. relaxing scent and no presence of competition) lower the displeasure generated by human crowding.
The thesis contributes to the research on the effects of ambient scent by considering the application of scent in conjunction with the human crowding component of the retail environment. Furthermore, this is—to our knowledge—the first study to use the presence of real people to simulate human crowding. Previous studies on the topic had participants look at pictures of a crowded settings, instead of immersing them in one.
Future research should replicate this study and expand on the scent selection, to ensure that the pleasing effect still holds for multidimensional scents.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > John Molson School of Business > Marketing |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Trinh, Trang |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M. Sc. |
| Program: | Business Administration (Marketing specialization) |
| Date: | 9 December 2016 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Grohmann, Bianca |
| Keywords: | retail crowding, human crowding, ambient scent, competition, atmospheric factors |
| ID Code: | 982288 |
| Deposited By: | TRANG TRINH |
| Deposited On: | 09 Jun 2017 15:46 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2018 17:54 |
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