Smoothing store atmosphere with darkness

While extant research investigated the effect of cue congruency on consumer behaviour, we aim to fill a gap in literature by examining how perceived cue congruency can be improved by manipulating illumination. Within an experimental study, we tested whether darkness improves perceived cue congruency between smell and haptic; thus, increasing willingness to pay. Results have shown that, compared to the bright condition, participants in the dark condition indicated higher WTP estimates; whereas, perceived cue congruency mediated the effect of darkness on WTP. The findings provide an innovative and easy solution to improve perceived cue congruency and therefore consumer behaviour.submitted by: Jessica ElsässerUniversity of Innsbruck, Masterarbeit, 2019(VLID)363393