When Should a Retailer Create an Exciting Store Environment?

Addressing inconsistent results in the literature, the conceptual framework that the authors develop proposes that the consumer's motivational orientation moderates the effect of the arousal produced by a store environment on the pleasantness of the environment. Two experiments support the framework. When consumers have a recreational motivational orientation, high arousal has a positive effect on pleasantness, but when consumers have a task-oriented motivational orientation, high arousal decreases pleasantness. In addition, high arousal increases consumer intentions to visit and make purchases in the store for recreationally oriented consumers, but it has a negative impact on shopping behavior for task-oriented consumers. Pleasantness mediates the effect of arousal on shopping behavior.