The effect of store atmosphere on brand evangelism and positive word of mouth communication (WOM): The intermediate role of customer satisfaction

The new generation marketing approach has turned into a structure in which both businesses and customers gain by creating all service-oriented values together, beyond providing pure profit and customer satisfaction. This change has moved away from the classical understanding and necessitated the active inclusion of consumers in marketing activities as well as businesses. Customers who are satisfied with the products and services of their business can share their satisfaction through word of mouth communication instead of ending the process, and they can even go one step further and volunteer for the brand with an evangelical attitude. In this way, businesses have made their customers a part of their promotion activities. In this context, the aim of this study is to test the effect of store atmosphere on brand evangelism and positive word of mouth (WOM) and the mediating role of customer satisfaction in this effect. For this purpose, the attitudes of individuals who had previously been in third generation coffee shops were examined. Today, the increasing number of coffee shops and the fact that coffee shops contain all the elements that make up the store atmosphere constitute the reason for choosing this sector in the study. The developed research model was tested with questionnaires applied on the internet and collected for two months between March-April 2022. As a result of the study, it has been determined that the store atmosphere has a positive and significant effect on positive word of mouth (WOM) and customer satisfaction, but has no significant effect on brand evangelism. In addition, it is another result of the study that customer satisfaction has a mediating role in the effect of store atmosphere on brand evangelism and positive word of mouth (WOM).