The ever-increasing nature of consumer demands has forced retailers to adopt 'added value' strategies to ensure their competitive edge in the market. Branding is considered a market differentiator, but alone is not enough to convince consumers to make a purchase. Consumers want more. Trends in the contemporary retail industry show that retail sustainability and retail experience design are two of the most successful added value strategies employed. This brings forth the issue of the retail sector's resource intensive and wasteful nature. Natural resources are used to produce everything from products and packaging to the physical retail space including the architectural structure, interior finishes and fittings, all for it to be demolished and discarded as waste at the end of its life cycle. This dissertation explores the value of nature as a model and mentor in the realm of retail design, particularly through application of Biomimetic and Biophilic design theories. Biomimicry is used as a design tool for developing a sustainable retail servicescape that emulates nature's resource efficient and zero-waste principles. Biophilic design strategies are employed towards the development of an in-store retail experience inspired by nature. Margaret Roberts; a well renowned South African herbalist - specialising in the art of healing with medicinal herbs, is the 'client' for this study. The proposed design intervention is the creation of a skincare servicescape for Margaret Roberts that integrates Biomimicry and Biophilia as an added value strategy. / Die immer veranderende aptyt van verbruikers het handelelaars genoop om tradisionele verkoopsdenke te verander en aan te pas ten einde te verseker dat "toegevoegde waarde " ontsluit word in 'n streng kompeterende mark. 'n Handelsmerk word beskou as 'n wesenlikke onderskeier maar is opsigself nie voldoende om verbruikers te oortuig om die produk te bekom nie. Verbruikers verlang meer as dit. Tendense in die kontempor?re verkoops-industrie dui op kleinhandel-volhoubaarheid asook kleinhandel-ontwerp "ondervinding" as twee van die meer suksesvolle strategie? om waarde te ontsluit. Dit plaas die kleinhandel sektor se ho? hulpbron verbruik en vermorsing onder die vergrootglas. Natuurlikke hulpbronne word gebruik, nie net vir die produksie van produkte nie maar ook vir die vervaardiging van verpakking, fisiese handelruimte oprigting insluitende argitektoniese struktuur, binnehuise versierings asook bybehore. Alles net om aan die einde van hul bruikbaarheidslewe afgebreek en weggegooi te word - 'n wesenlikke vermorsing. Hierdie skrywe ondersoek die rol van die natuur as model en mentor in Handelsontwerp met die fokus op die toepassing van Biomimetic en Biophilic ontwerpsbeginsels. Biomimicry word aangewend as 'n ontwerpsinstrument in die ontwikkelling van volhoubaarheids Handels en Dienste-ontwerp wat doeltreffendheid en zero-vermorsing beginsels van die natuur najaag. Biophilic ontwerpsbeginsels word terselfde tyd ook aangewend om die aankoopondervinding in die handelsruimte te ontwikkel en verbeter volgens natuur-geinspireerde beginsels. Margaret Roberts, 'n vernaamde Suid Afrikaanse kruiedeskundige wat spesialiseer in kruiemedisyne, is die kli?nt vir hierdie studie. Die voorgestelde ontwerp is 'n toegepaste handelsruimte vir Margaret Roberts waar Biomimicry en Biomimetic beginsels ingespan word teneinde toegevoegde waarde te ontsluit. / Mini Dissertation (MInt (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Architecture / MInt (Prof) / Unrestricted

This paper will first focus on the theoretical definition of the term "atmospherics" and its elements. This will continue with the definition of seasonal influences. These parts will then serve as basis for concrete evaluation of atmospherics in hypermarket retail units Tesco and Globus. After that, the two units will be compared and contrasted and eventual suggestions for improvement will be offered. Responsible employees of the two units will then react to the evaluations and suggestions.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-98)

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-98)

Ambient lighting has emerged as a key atmospheric factor influencing how consumers process environmental cues and their behaviors. However, surprisingly little research has examined how people think and feel in the dark (lower than 15 lux). This is particularly relevant given that consumers routinely work, pay bills, relax, consume and make purchases in settings with little or no light. My dissertation addresses this gap by examining how consumers regulate their goals and process information when the light is off, and how that impacts their decision making in three substantive domains: risk-taking behavior, decision quality, and persuasion. In Essay 1, I propose darkness enables risk-taking behavior, and this effect happens through the calmness and relaxation induced in the dark. One caveat is that the decisions have to be made in a familiar setting. The effect was reflected in participants' decisions to invest in riskier yet lucrative stocks, to gamble with the riskier choice, to eat at a foreign restaurant, and to choose a supplement that has potential side effects in a field experiment and three lab experiments (pre-registered). In Essay 2, I propose that when the light is off, consumers are indeed induced to adopt an effortful processing mode. Across four experiments (one field experiment, two lab experiments, and one online experiment), darkness promotes higher quality decisions across consumption contexts (financial, food, and product choices) compared to higher luminous levels. Together, this dissertation explores the intriguing phenomenon of ambient darkness and extends current understandings on ambient lighting and consumer behavior. The essays also offer robust findings through field and lab experiments with tendency and incentive-compatible outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore spectators’ level of satisfaction toward atmospherics in the sport environment—facility—and to show the influence atmospherics has on spectators’ intention to attend sporting events. A group of undergraduate students (N = 145) attending men’s basketball games at a typical NCAA Division I mid-major university responded to a survey. The respondents indicated that they were satisfied with event security and ticket pricing and close to satisfied with all other variables, but they were dissatisfied with parking and merchandise price. A principal component analysis and a discriminant analysis were conducted to identify which constructs better differentiate respondents attending fewer games (one to five) from those attending more games (six and more). Results show that entertainment and facility atmosphere contribute to attracting spectators to the games, but facility services contribute to avoidance behavior. In addition, implications and future research options are given.

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Second Life, a 3-D virtual world, has evolved as a shopping channel for both consumers and retailers. This channel of retailing offers interactive environment, allows designing atmospherics, and provides enjoyable shopping experience as compared to website stores. The purpose of the study was: (1) to identify the key features of Second Life stores and (2) to determine the relationship of the Second Life store features with consumer purchase intentions. The online survey was administered in Second Life by an external research agency, and 249 usable surveys were collected. The data were analyzed utilizing factor analysis and regression. Three key features of Second Life stores were explored in this study. These three features were: (1) interactivity via the two components of two-way communication and active control, (2) store atmospherics, and (3) shopping enjoyment. Regression analysis showed that shopping enjoyment and two-way communication (i.e., the presence of an avatar sales representative) were significant predictors of purchase intention in Second Life stores, while active control and store atmospherics did not influence purchase intentions.

<p> This document describes a research study that investigates ways of designing the Web atmospherics of retail shopping sites to better support consumers in their product information seeking. In this regard, the document identifies two significant modes of product information seeking (product browsing and product searching) and concentrates on two specific types of Web atmospherics (information presentation and information focus). Information presentation concerns the format of information displayed on the Web shopping interface, while information focus concerns the granularity of this displayed information. Utilizing these theoretical constructs, this document proposes that: i) matching information presentation to information seeking mode will lead to increased levels of consumer perceived value with Web shopping sites; ii) information seeking mode will influence user preferences for Web page design elements of Web pages with different information focus granularities; iii) information seeking mode will yield distinctive patterns of on-line consumer behavior; and iv) information presentation will impact the extent to which consumers interact with a Web shopping site. </p> <p> In order to investigate the effects of information presentation and information focus on consumer Web information seeking, this document outlines a randomized experiment. The experiment places subjects into either a browsing or searching mode, and manipulates information presentation within a simulated Web shopping environment. Measured outcomes in terms of perceived hedonic and utilitarian values are used to determine interactions between information seeking mode and information presentation. An analysis of test subjects' usage of the experimental Web site is conducted to assess: i) how information presentation and information seeking mode impact test subjects' preferences for Web pages and Web page design elements of different information focus granularities; and ii) the extent to which analysis of the interactions yield distinctive patterns of on-line behavior. </p> <p> Findings from the experiment provide support for two distinct behavioral patterns corresponding to searching and browsing information seeking modes: i) searchers and browsers chose to view Web pages and Web page design elements consistent with their information focus; and ii) on-line behavior is moderated by varying the level of information presentation. Specifically, browsing is associated with a more diffuse information focus than is searching; and as predicted, browsers view more pages and click on hyper-links that are of a more diffuse information focus (category-level pages, view related products) than do searchers. Further the moderating role of information presentation is seen in the number of search pages viewed by searchers and browsers at each level of information presentation. The results also indicate that the perceived hedonic and utilitarian value scales are likely not sufficiently sensitive to measure the experimental manipulations in this experiment. </p> <p> In addition to the running of an experiment, a key deliverable of this research is the development of a research tool that simulates a real-life shopping environment where consumers browse and search for product-related information. The tool allows for placement of subjects into experimental treatments that utilize different renderings of the shopping interface. The tool also provides a means of measuring subject responses through a built-in questionnaire and a behavioral tracking mechanism. Through the running of the experiment, the tool is shown to be effective at producing treatment differences and capturing behavioral patterns of users' interactions with the simulated shopping interface. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No description available.