The impact of indoor environmental quality on customers in retail stores: The case of clothing stores

Today, the concepts of retail and store are important concepts in many areas. A store is a commercial organization that offers various products and services to customers and usually operates in a physical area. Stores are areas where human circulation is intense. As the number of stores increases day by day, the expectations and demands of customers also increase. The store environment shapes customer perception and behavior beyond the act of purchasing. This situation creates an important responsibility in terms of user comfort, satisfaction and experiences. Comfort is a concept that expresses the level of comfort and satisfaction that individuals experience in a space. Indoor environmental quality is a term that covers comfort parameters such as thermal, auditory, visual and indoor air quality in a space. The correct application of these parameters allows the interior space to have a positive effect on customers. Therefore, ensuring indoor environmental quality in stores becomes important. In this context, studies should be planned to improve indoor environmental quality by considering customer comfort and satisfaction in stores. This study aims to analyze the comfort and satisfaction level of customers in stores regarding indoor environmental quality and to present suggestions and a checklist for the improvement of the retail sector by examining the impact of indoor environmental quality on customers, defining its strengths and weaknesses. Within the scope of the study, store, store design, physical store environment components, user comfort, indoor environmental quality and comfort parameters were investigated. Survey data collected from shopping mall clothing stores in Istanbul Bakirkoy location, observations and literature reviews reveal the findings of the study. As a result of the study, the impact of indoor environmental quality on customers was clearly revealed, areas requiring improvement were identified, suggestions were presented and a checklist was created.