The influence of emotional response to interior color on restaurant entry decision

doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.09.014

International Journal of Hospitality Management

Volume 69, January 2018, Pages 124-131

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.09.014 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Color encourages a positive emotion and decision making for first time customer.
•
Pleasure is the best emotional predictor to estimate the entry decision event.
•
High value colors received high score for pleasure and influences the entry decision.

Abstract

Color is one of the essential aesthetic design elements in restaurant setting due to its high impact on customer’s emotional and behavioral responses. The purpose of this study is to explore the linkage between emotional response to interior color and restaurant entry decision. A total of 496 research participants evaluated eleven computer-generated restaurant scenes with different interior colors. Each participant was asked to evaluate his/her emotional responses on nine adjective pairs of the PAD emotion scale as well as his/her entry decision. Logistic regression models were derived to indicate the probability of entering the restaurant. Pleasure was found to be the best behavioral response predictor. Data analysis also showed that restaurant scenes with high value color and warm-tone color received higher scores for pleasure. This study concludes that to fully understand the effects of color on emotional and behavioral responses in restaurants, additional color attributes should be further examined.

Introduction

In retailing, the first visual impression of the retail environment can evoke the customer’s image of the brand, communicate merchandise opportunities (Kerfoot et al., 2003, Quartier et al., 2009, Ebster and Garaus, 2011), and impulse buying behavior (Law et al., 2012, Mehta and Chugan, 2013, Hussain and Mashar, 2015). Color is one of the aesthetic design factors that is used in decoration to attract visual attention due to its impact on a customer’s emotional and behavioral responses (Brengman, 2002, Babin et al., 2003, Ryu and Jang, 2008, Jang and Namkung, 2009, van Rompay et al., 2012, Cho and Lee, 2017). Previous research studies have made extensive effort to investigate the relationship between color, emotion and behavior. For example, interior color has been linked to emotion and feeling (Bellizzi and Hite, 1992, Ward and Barnes, 2001, Chebat and Morrin, 2007, Yildirim et al., 2012), retail image (Bellizzi et al., 1983, Baker et al., 1994), a customer’s decision making on product and retail (Brengman, 2002, Babin et al., 2003, Westerman et al., 2012, Han et al., 2014). Nevertheless, the understanding of the relationship between emotion induced from color and a customer’s behavioral response in restaurants has received less attention.

In Thailand, the restaurant business was reported as one of the fastest growing and highly competitive business segments (Kasikorn Research Center, 2014). In the past few years, with an annual business growth rate of 3–6%, many new restaurants have been opened. In retailing, with multiple options to choose from, store atmospherics plays an important role in approach behavior (Turley and Milliman, 2000, Oh and Petrie, 2012). In order to compete with other restaurateurs, the restaurant owners need to implement new marketing strategies to attract the visual attention of new customers in which one of the most effective and economical strategies is selecting or modifying interior color. Nevertheless, the color choice which would attract the visual attention of customers in a restaurant setting has not yet been investigated.

The objectives of the study are to investigate the effects of restaurant interior color on emotional response and theemotional response to color on approach-avoidance behavior of restaurant customers. The study is important both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, this study attempts to propose a predicting model that investigates the relationships among physical environments, customer emotional responses and approach-avoidance behavior in restaurants from the perspective of a first-time/passerby customer. Practically, this study can provide designers and retailers a preliminary guideline in using color as a strategy to attract visual attention in a restaurant setting.

Section snippets

Atmospherics and retail

In marketing research, Kotler (1973 defined “atmospherics” as the designing of space to influence specific emotions to motivate the purchase intention. Atmospherics is set up by environmental features such as light, scent, music and color. In order to explain the relationship among atmospheric features, emotional response and behavioral response, Mehrabian and Russell (1974) proposed the Stimulus-Organism-Response model (SOR model). In the SOR model, the relationship can be explained in three

Study participants

Participants were enrolled using convenience sampling method and recruited from indoor public areas such as shopping mall, library, office, and airport. All participants were a restaurant customer who visited casual dining restaurant in Thailand, and can read Thai language. The age of participants were 20–65 years. Prior to the experiment, each participant was tested for color blindness using the Ishihara Color Vision Test.

Materials and settings

Prior to the study, a preliminary field survey of restaurant design in

Descriptive statistics

Of the total 496 research participants, 221 (45%) were male. The average age of participants was 25 years old. Most research participants were office workers 364 (73%) and had bachelor degree 291 (59%). 221 participants (45%) reported monthly incomes between 10,001 to 25,000 THB (in 2015, the average monthly income per capita in greater Bangkok Metropolitan area was 25,114 THB; National Statistical Office, 2015) (Table 3).

The effects of restaurant interior color on emotional response

In the evaluation of mean and t-value, color hue tone had a statistically

Discussion

This study attempted to examine the relationship between emotional response to color and a first-time/passerby customer decision for entering a restaurant based on visual appearance of the restaurant’s storefront without consideration of food and service quality. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were derived to explain the linkage between emotional predictors and approach-avoidance behavior. The findings of the present study showed that the customer’s entering decision

Suggestion

Previous research has examined the impact of environmental stimuli on customer’s emotional and behavioral responses based on the Mehrabian and Russell’s SOR model. However, only a few have examined such relationship in restaurant settings. This study attempted to understand the role of color as atmospherics stimuli in emotion and entry decision. This study has several theoretical and managerial implications.

Conclusion

This study extended the existing knowledge in environmental psychology on the effect of restaurant atmospherics on customer response based on the Mehrabian-Russell’s SOR Model. PAD emotional responses of the first time/passerby customer decision process were focused on predicting a restaurant entry decision. The results indicated that the use of color that induced pleasurable emotion significantly influence the customer’s restaurant entry decisions.

We acknowledge that the findings in this study

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The influence of emotional response to interior color on restaurant entry decision

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Atmospherics and retail

Study participants

Materials and settings

Descriptive statistics

The effects of restaurant interior color on emotional response

Discussion

Suggestion

Conclusion

J. Bus. Res.

J. Bus. Res.

Dec. Support Syst.

Transp. Res. Part E: Logist. Transp. Rev.

J. Retail.

J. Environ. Psychol.

Procedia − Soc. Behav. Sci.

Procedia − Soc. Behav. Sci.

J. Environ. Psychol.

J. Bus. Res.

Int. J. Hosp. Manage.

Int. J. Hosp. Manage.

J. Retail. Consumer Serv.

Procedia − Soc. Behav. Sci.

Int. J. Hosp. Manage.

J. Retail.

J. Retail. Consumer Serv.

J. Retail. Consumer Serv.

Int. J. Hosp. Manage.

Int. J. Mark. Res.

J. Bus. Res.

J. Retail.

J. Bus. Res.

Procedia − Soc. Behav. Sci.

Build. Environ.

J. Bus. Res.

An experimental approach to marketing retail store environmental decisions

J. Retail.

The influence of store environment on quality inferences and store image

J. Acad. Mark. Sci.

Environmental color, consumer feelings, and purchase likelihood

Psychol. Market.

The effects of color in store design

J. Retail.

Servicescapes: the impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees

J. Market.

The four dimensional impact of color on shopper's emotions

Adv. Consumer Res.