Sensory marketing: the mediating role of hedonic emotions between multisensory experiences and mall patronage intention

Purpose Providing positive and memorable shopping experiences has become essential for retailers. As the retail industry strives to create multisensory experiences for consumers, it is equally important to understand the emotions and pleasure such experiences evoke. The current study aims to investigate how multisensory experiences induce hedonic emotions in retail shoppers. It explores the mediating role of hedonic emotions in between multisensory experiences and shopping mall patronage intention. Design/methodology/approach The study is descriptive; the data was collected using the mall intercept survey method. A total of 380 shoppers participated in and responded to the survey administered at the mall. The collected responses are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings Our findings support the idea that hedonic emotions play a significant role in the retail environment by influencing retail patronage intentions. Also, the multisensory experiences have a positive effect on patronage intention as well as the hedonic emotions of shoppers. Research limitations/implications The present study provides theoretical and managerial implications for academicians and retail marketing. Originality/value The present research contributes to the existing literature by introducing the concept of multisensory experiences in the retail context and its impact on hedonic emotions and adding to the concept of inference theory.