The effect of the store atmosphere on the purchasing intention of the consumers: A study on shoe stores

Increasingly competitive environment pushes businesses to find competitive solutions in different areas apart from the differentiation of the products and services they offer. Retailers, who enable businesses to reach consumers, meet with customers in the store environment. The customer encounters the product and service in the store. The customer's purchasing behavior is being affected during this situation. The elements that affect the customer's senses -from the moment they see the store, even after the purchase- create the atmosphere of the store. When the store atmosphere is used well for retailers, it is a serious promotional activity and provides a competitive advantage. We can group the store atmosphere elements as external environment, internal environment, store layout and human factor. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the effect of store atmosphere on purchasing behavior of shoe store customers. The data of the research were collected from 497 people living in Turkey through a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS program. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, Anova test and T test were used in the study. According to the results of the factor analysis, it has been determined that the store atmosphere consists of external environment, internal environment, store layout and human factor dimensions. As a result of the applied regression analysis, it was determined that all dimensions had a positive and significant effect on purchasing. According to the Anavo and T-test results, it was observed that the customers' exposure to the store atmosphere changed according to demographic characteristics such as gender, age, occupation, child status and marital status.