| Abstract | This research explores how consumer religiosity influences brand sensuality, brand experience and consumer hedonism and how that, in turn, affects the repurchase intention of consumers. Building on environmental psychology theory and the Stimulus-Organism-Response model, the study shows that sensorial stimuli from atmospheric surroundings have an effect on individuals’ cognitive, affective and behavioural reactions which, consequently, determines whether individuals’ approach or avoid that atmosphere. While extensive contributions in the past literature have shown the influence of sensorial cues on individuals’ emotional and behavioural intentions, factors such as personality traits and cultural and socio-cultural influences, which affect individuals’ reactions to sensorial cues and, in turn, affect their behavioural responses, have attracted very little attention.
The domain of this research had four key areas: (a) the various dimensions of brand sensuality (i.e. visual, audial, olfactory, haptic and social) are examined that can be used to influence consumers in the retail industry; (b) religiosity and its dimensions in the Turkish landscape are investigated; (c) the moderating effects of religiosity and consumer-perceived value on the relationships between sensorial cues (i.e. visual, audial, olfactory, haptic and social) and brand experience are examined; and (d) the relationship between the five brand sensuality elements and brand experience, consumer hedonism and repurchase intention are investigated. Drawing on the environmental psychology theory, to address the research questions, a mixed-method approach was utilised. In order to develop the research measurement scales, a thorough literature review was undertaken, followed by the qualitative study and then the quantitative study. The qualitative study was conducted to achieve an enhanced understanding of a research phenomenon that has drawn little attention so far. Moreover, during the qualitative study, the researcher identified possible new items from the respondents’ comments. The validity of the measurement scales was examined through the interviews and the focus groups. The qualitative study was conducted before the quantitative study, so it could be utilised as the basis of the main study. The quantitative data drawn from 410 questionnaires was examined by adopting Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS), utilising IBM SPSS Amos 21.0.0 for the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess the measurement model and hypothesised structural model.
The main research contribution of this study is the construction of a model that explains the brand sensuality elements and the moderating effect of consumer religiosity and consumer-perceived value on the path of brand sensuality and brand experience, which lead consumers to have hedonic values and intention to repurchase. The results of this research show that audial, olfactory and haptic cues have a direct positive effect on the brand experience. The results additionally indicate that consumer religiosity moderates the relationships between olfactory cues and brand experience, and between social cues and brand experience. Additionally, the results indicate that consumer-perceived value moderates the relationship between haptic cues and brand experience and strengthens the relationship between haptic cues and brand experience. The SEM results also indicate that brand experience has a direct influence on hedonism and repurchase intention, while hedonism also influences repurchase intention.
Based on the results, there are a plethora of implications that this study holds for managers who want to implement sensorial strategies into their marketing efforts. First and foremost, this study addressed the research gap in the literature and answered the question of how the overall effect of sensorial cues can be enhanced, and to what extent individual differences influence the relationship between sensorial cues and experience. The result of this study considered critical since with the fast-paced environment of competitive marketplaces, firms are actively seeking to appeal to consumers’ sensations in order to differentiate their offerings; brand sensuality is, therefore, gaining more and more importance since, once one or more senses has been evoked, it is difficult to eliminate them, thereby enabling a long-term brand experience. Therefore, this study provides an insight to policymakers, managers and brands on the impact of sensory marketing on consumer buying practices across cultures, including emerging economies.
Additionally, by investigating religiosity and consumer perceived value as individual related variables on brand experience and brand sensuality, the results have a substantial importance for managers, designers, decision-makers,
consultants, where they can blend sensorial inputs in the retail atmosphere by considering the influence of religiosity and consumer perceived value where it can provide a differentiation effect within this fiercely competitive environment. |
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