In-store arousal and consumers’ inferences of manipulative intent in the store environment

Résumé En

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to show how consumers’ inferences of manipulative intentmediate the effects of in-store arousal on pleasure and approach behavior.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study identifies arousal as a dimension of the storeenvironment that may lead to inferences of manipulative intent. An experiment manipulating arousaltests the mediating effect of inferences of manipulative intent on the relationship of arousal withpleasure and approach behavior.Findings – A qualitative study and the results of an experiment suggest that arousing storeenvironments lead to negative outcomes when consumers infer that such environments aremanipulative. The experimental study results show that high in-store arousal increases inferences ofmanipulative intent, which in turn negatively affect pleasure and approach behaviors. The results alsoindicate that the effects of in-store arousal on inferences of manipulative intent vary with age.Practical implications – The study results recommend that practitioners carefully design theirstore environments, such that arousal they create does not lead consumers to believe that theenvironment is manipulative.Originality/value – This article contributes to extant literature by emphasizing the crucial role ofinferences of manipulative intent in the effects of in-store arousal.