Cross-category effects of induced arousal and pleasure on the internet shopping experience

Pergamon Journal of Retailing 78 (2002) 31– 40

Cross-category effects of induced arousal and pleasure on the Internet shopping experience Satya Menona,*, Barbara Kahnb a

b

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607 USA The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6376 USA

Abstract Online retailers are likely to try to influence consumers’ shopping behavior through atmospherics and service, just as physical stores do. The impact of online atmospherics can be measured by the degree of stimulation and pleasure that is provided by a website. It is suggested that the characteristics of products and websites that are encountered early in online browsing can significantly influence the level of arousal and pleasure that consumers experience, and thereby can influence their later shopping behavior. Two experiments show that if the initial experiences encountered in a simulated Internet shopping trip are higher in pleasure, then there is a positive impact on approach behaviors and subjects engage in more arousing activities (e.g., more exploration, more tendencies to examine novel products and stores, higher response to promotional incentives). Further, if higher stimulation or information load is provided by the initial Internet experience, then consumers subsequently tend to engage in less arousing activities. © 2002 by New York University. All rights reserved. Keywords: Retail atmospherics; Internet shopping; Information load

Introduction In the 21st century, there is little doubt that the Internet will become an important channel for retailing. Because the World Wide Web presents a fundamentally different environment for retailing activities than traditional physical stores or catalogs (Hoffman & Novak, 1996), marketing activities and consumer behavior need to be re-evaluated in this context. Analogous to physical stores, websites are likely to try to differentiate themselves in part on the basis of atmospherics and service (Alba, Lynch, Weitz, Janiszewski, Lutz, Sawyer, & Wood, 1997). Technological innovations such as streaming audio/video and the capability to relay smells through electronic networks hold the promise that traditional atmospheric variables such as colors, music, smells and lights can be deployed to make the online retail environment approach the ambience of traditional retail stores. Past research has shown that in traditional retail stores, the shopping atmosphere or store environment can influence browsing, purchase intentions, and shopping time (Baker, Grewal, & Levy, 1992; Bellizi, Crowley, & Hasty, 1983;

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Menon).

Kotler, 1973; Milliman, 1982). Most of these studies have focused on atmospherics such as colors, lighting, or music and have shown that these aspects can significantly influence the emotions (e.g., pleasure and arousal) of shoppers and thereby affect their behavior. Given the recent advances in the e-commerce arena, it is important to examine the characteristics of the computer-mediated shopping environment that can produce measurable effects on consumers’ emotional experiences (Hoffman & Novak, 1996). It seems likely that new types of “atmospheric” variables may become relevant in electronic retailing. Three key aspects are notably different between e-commerce and traditional retail stores. Relative to traditional retail stores, in e-commerce: (1) the window of sight is narrower–rather than walking into a huge physical store, the shopping environment is a small screen, (2) distance and time are compressed, and (3) consumers have more control over the information they seek and the websites they visit (Alba et al., 1997). The narrow frame suggests that consumers immediately focus in on particular items, and time compression suggests that items seen earlier are more likely to have an influence on items seen later (Burke, Harlam, Kahn, & Lodish, 1992). Further, that consumers can control their path (rather than be controlled by store layout) suggests that in e-commerce, a new type of “atmospheric” variable that may influence shopping

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behavior is the sequence of products or websites that a consumer encounters during a single shopping experience. In this research, we look at how product experiences encountered early on in an Internet shopping trip can impact the emotions of shoppers and thereby influence the time spent, the nature of browsing, and promotional interactions during the rest of the trip. Our primary interest is in studying exploratory shopping/browsing behavior on the Internet where search may be motivated more by hedonic motives than by practical, goal-oriented purposes (Bloch, Sherrell, & Ridgway, 1986). Such nondirected search activities are common on the Internet. For example, surfers may browse purely for recreation with nonexplicit goals such as maintaining opinion leadership or building an information bank (Hoffman & Novak, 1996). To illustrate our basic proposition, consider a consumer surfing through an Internet mall. In one case, the consumer first encounters a wine retailing website, where s/he encounters sensory-laden descriptions of wines, with photographs of beautiful vineyards and/or receives recommendations about the perfect wine to pair with a special dinner entree. In another case, the consumer first encounters a site offering paper towels and reads about the available sizes, thickness and prices. We propose that the characteristics of these initially encountered products or websites (similar to the effects of traditional atmospherics) will affect the degree of pleasure and arousal that a consumer experiences. Further, we propose that these induced states will influence the subsequent choice of websites and shopping behavior. Prior research in environmental psychology (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974), retailing (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Donovan, Rossiter, Marcoolyn, & Nesdale, 1994) and hedonic consumption behavior (Holbrook & Gardner, 1993) have suggested that consumers’ desire to approach or avoid stimuli within an environment would be mediated by their emotional responses to the atmospherics in that environment. We propose that emotional responses will also mediate consumers’ reactions in dynamic environments such as the Internet, or across sequences of consumption experiences. Specifically, in e-commerce situations, we propose that when products or experiences initially encountered are judged to be more pleasant by consumers, they are more likely to exhibit greater “approach” behavior, that is, a greater willingness to linger or explore further (Donovan et al., 1994). We hypothesize that these approach tendencies will lead to more time spent browsing, more varied products explored, a higher response to promotional incentives, and in general, exploration of more arousing stimuli during the rest of the Internet experience. We also investigate consumer reactions to the information load of the initial encounter, where information load is defined as the degree of novelty and complexity of a website (cf. Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). We follow others (e.g., Donovan & Rossiter, 1982) in assuming that the load of an environment is directly related to the degree of arousal induced by the environment. If the initial products or expe-

riences encountered in the electronic context are more complex, have higher information load, and thus are more arousing, consumers may then exhibit avoidance behaviors, and spend less time browsing and generally exhibit a desire for less stimulating features in subsequent exploration. This is because more arousing stimuli demand more attention and cognitive resources (Cohen, 1978), and consumers will try to conserve cognitive resources in subsequent tasks (Kahneman, 1973). Conversely, if consumers are faced with mundane, familiar or nonstimulating products early on, they may be more likely to seek further stimulation in the latter part of the Internet experience. Thus, we may find a systematic across-category effect on shopping behavior that varies with the characteristics of the products or experiences that consumers encounter initially in a website. We conduct two experiments to test this proposition. In the first study, we test the effects of induced pleasure on attitudinal preferences related to future shopping behavior. The second study is designed as a browsing task in an Internet shopping mall where participants can react as they might normally when surfing the Internet. In this study, we vary both the pleasure and the information load that is experienced initially and measure differences in subsequent mall-exploring behavior.

Theoretical background A central tenet of this research is that a consumer’s experience in one consumption situation is likely to affect his/her behavior in immediately following situation. This dynamic focus distinguishes the present research from the previous work done in environmental psychology (e.g., Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Holbrook & Gardner, 1993; Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). In the previous work, researchers showed that the atmospheric variables associated with a stimulus influenced concurrent behavior towards that stimulus. For instance, the researchers showed that if a supermarket atmosphere was pleasant, it could influence consumers to exhibit more approach behavior in that supermarket. In this research, we propose that a pleasant or arousing experience will have carry-over effects on the next experience encountered. We believe that these carry-over effects may be especially significant in Internet browsing as consumption experiences closely follow each other (e.g., switching from one website to another). We predict that the carry-over effects from one consumption experience to another will operate through experienced emotions of pleasure and arousal. Similar to the research in environmental psychology, we conceptualize pleasure and arousal as two orthogonal dimensions of affect (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). Whereas pleasure refers to the degree to which a person feels good, joyful, happy, or satisfied in a situation, arousal refers to the degree to which a person feels stimulated, active, or alert. These two dimensions are hypothesized to be independent, so that one can

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have a high arousal situation that may or may not be pleasurable. Although we use the Mehrabian and Russell twodimensional framework as an underlying framework and measurement tool for affect, the issues we focus on differ from those emphasized in past studies on retailing (e.g., Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Donovan. et al., 1993). This past work hypothesized the impact of affect as a static atmospheric variable, whereas we study its carry-over effects on subsequent behavior. As such, we turn to the psychological literature to support our position. Impact of pleasure The findings of many psychologists suggest that induced pleasure encourages more approach behaviors and a desire to seek higher stimulation in subsequent tasks. For example, Isen (1987) found that positive affect enables subjects to handle greater informational complexity, become more optimistic about the likely outcome of an anticipated experience, and more willing to experiment or seek risk. She also found that positive affect increases consumer awareness of greater differences among positive stimuli in the environment, thus creating more awareness of their potential stimulation. Schwarz (1986) suggested that if individuals do not have any specific goals for evaluation, as might be true when consumers engage in hedonic browsing, they may use their affective feelings as a guide while evaluating any target. In doing so, they may mistakenly attribute a preexisting affective state as a reaction towards the target stimuli. When individuals encounter novel stimuli, their feelings may be the only information available to help in the evaluation, whereas for familiar targets, other more relevant information (e.g., prior evaluations in memory) may be available. This suggests that pre-existing pleasure emotions may increase favorable evaluations of novel stimuli more than familiar stimuli, thus increasing the “approach” tendency towards novel stimuli. Schwarz also suggested that positive emotions or happy feelings may more fundamentally change the psychological orientation of individuals. For instance, individuals may make holistic inferences based on their own happy emotional states that the world is a safe place, that there are no threats to current goals, and that no particular action is required to avoid negative outcomes. Such a signaling effect may facilitate the thought processes of individuals in a positive affective state, making them more willing to explore new possibilities, take risks or elaborate on more creative, unusual associations. Thus, Schwarz provided another possible explanation about why pre-existing pleasure emotions may increase the desire to approach more novel, stimulating targets that are encountered. In consumer behavior contexts, researchers have found additional support for the proposition that pleasure has carry-over effects on subsequent behavior. Kahn and Isen (1993) proposed that happy individuals would have an increased preference for stimulation, variety, and novelty as

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long as they felt safe. In various choice experiments, Kahn and Isen (1993) and Menon and Kahn (1995) found support for this conjecture by demonstrating that positive affect leads to increased variety-seeking behavior and greater experimentation. The theoretical reasoning and empirical findings outlined above suggest that pleasure increases the desire to seek more stimulation in the environment. Similarly, Holbrook and Gardner (1993) suggested that individuals might be able to cope with greater arousal in experiences that were more pleasurable. Although their investigation was within a static environment (listening time for a taped musical piece), they noted that it would be theoretically possible to have “carryover effects from one tape (e.g., pleasure or arousal on the preceding exposure) that affect responses to a subsequent tape.” (p.133). Prediction 1: We predict that induced pleasure from an initial Internet encounter will lead to increased approach behaviors in subsequent browsing/shopping behavior. Specifically, consumers experiencing higher pleasure from an initial Internet experience may show a desire for higher stimulation in subsequent experiences by exhibiting Y more desire to linger on subsequent sites; Y more willingness to browse more sites and explore a broader range of product categories; and Y more willingness to participate in product promotions. Impact of arousal Several researchers in psychology (Kahneman, 1973; Mano, 1992; Sanbonmatsu & Kardes, 1988) have examined the relationship between arousal and subsequent processing of information and decision-making. Their results suggest that higher arousal levels in individuals would lead to lower approach behaviors (or increased avoidance behaviors) in subsequent tasks. For example, Mano (1992) found that subjects experiencing higher levels of arousal spent less time deliberating on subsequent decision tasks, examined less decision-related information and employed simpler decision strategies. These researchers accounted for this effect with a cognitive processing explanation that more arousing stimuli elicit more attention and more elaborate network encoding in memory than less arousing stimuli (e.g., Kahneman, 1973). This restricts the amount of attention and processing resources that can be allocated to subsequent tasks, so that more aroused subjects tend to simplify future decisions and avoid more stimulating contexts compared to less aroused subjects. In traditional retail shopping, characteristics such as loud music, strobe lighting, and store crowding can contribute to the overall level of stimulation in the environment (see Kahn & McAlister, 1997, pp. 133–139 for a review). The arousal created by these external factors can have carry-over effects from one situation to another, thus affecting how much arousal is desired in subsequent activities (Mano,

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1992). For example, in crowded stores, customers restrict themselves to superficial forms of interaction with store personnel and other shoppers, engage less in exploratory shopping, delay unnecessary purchases, and reduce shopping time (Harrell, Hutt, & Anderson, 1980). This is consistent with the view that increased environmental stimulation is distracting and uses up attention capacity available for the task at hand (Cohen, 1978). In the Internet environment, we suggest that the specific characteristics of products, or the information load of the initial Internet experience, can also influence the level of arousal experienced. We predict, therefore, that when products encountered early in a shopping trip are very familiar or monotonous (i.e., possess low arousal potential), consumers may try to increase stimulation from other sources in the environment. For instance, they may look for information on more novel stimuli, exhibit greater curiosity about the environment by browsing more, by visiting another website, and/or be more willing to spend money or engage in unplanned purchases. Conversely, if the products encountered initially are novel or complex, consumers may try to decrease the stimulation during the rest of the shopping trip by browsing less, or by avoiding highly arousing stimuli such as novel products. Prediction 2: Consumers experiencing higher levels of arousal from an initial Internet encounter will exhibit lower approach behaviors in subsequent browsing/shopping behavior. Specifically, consumers experiencing higher arousal will show a desire for lower stimulation by exhibiting Y less desire to linger on subsequent websites; Y less willingness to browse more sites or to explore a broader range of product categories; and Y less willingness to participate in product promotions. In sum, we predict that higher pleasure associated with initial stimuli would increase subsequent approach behavior compared to neutral pleasure. In contrast, when initial stimuli are higher in stimulation or information load, we expect that subsequent shopping behavior would show lower approach tendencies than if they were lower in stimulation. Studies 1 and 2 are designed to test these predictions. In Study 1, we examine whether various product sites designed for the Internet can induce measurably different levels of pleasure (high, neutral). Further, we test prediction 1 regarding the carry-over effects of pleasure by examining attitudes towards subsequent choice of stimuli. In Study 2, we test our predictions regarding the effects of initially encountered pleasantness and stimulation on subsequent behavior in Internet contexts.

Study 1 In the first study, we created two Internet websites for a juice bar to manipulate pleasantness of the stimuli, and we measured pleasure and arousal emotions in response to the manipulations. Our goal was to manipulate only the plea-

sure emotions while holding arousal unchanged between the two conditions. In addition, we also measured how the induced pleasure state affected consumers’ attitudes regarding subsequent shopping behavior. Our stimuli were created using the MacroMedia Director programming language and resembled actual websites. The stimuli, selected based on extensive pretesting, consisted of different menus of fruit drinks offered at the juice bar (e.g., Malibu Passion, Rosy Pippin, Zombie). We chose a food category because it is one that is well represented on the Internet through supermarket sites, recipe sites, restaurant sites, and branded food sites as well as one that users typically browse. Pleasantness of stimuli was manipulated by varying the visual presentations of the drinks. In the high-pleasantness cells, the drinks were presented in more attractive containers (e.g., fluted glasses, pitchers) and showed more attractive garnishes (e.g., little paper umbrellas, fruit slices, crushed ice) relative to the neutral-pleasantness cells where the drinks were shown in ordinary glass containers without any garnishes. In order to measure subjects’ feelings of pleasure and arousal in response to our stimuli, we used the Affect Grid (Russell, Weiss, & Mendelsohn, 1989). The Affect Grid is designed to assess the two emotional dimensions through a single measurement, and has been found to be reliable in consumer research (Holbrook & Gardner, 1993). Subjects were asked to rate their current feelings by placing an “X” in the position within a 9 ⫻ 9 matrix that best represents their emotional state along pleasure (horizontal) and arousal (vertical) dimensions. The axes of the matrix were labeled to represent various states of arousal and pleasure (cf. Russell et al., 1989). The selected position of the “X” is translated into measures of arousal and pleasure on 1–9 scales. The meaning of the axes and the use of Affect Grid were explained in detail to the subjects. Attitudinal scales We have two sets of measures to test our predictions about the carry-over effects of pleasure from the initial stimuli on subsequent shopping behavior. Our first prediction states that in high pleasure conditions, the desired level of stimulation is higher so that there may be an increased desire for novel, exciting, or otherwise arousing stimuli in future interactions. We tested this by assessing subjects’ stated preferences for selecting different types of websites if they were to engage in web surfing after they had been exposed to the juice stimuli. Preferences for stimulating/ exciting web sites were assessed using five 9-point rating scales: (1) I want sites that stir me up (sites that are relaxing). (2) I want sites that are new and unfamiliar (familiar and usual). (3) I want sites that are varied and contrasting (similar in content).

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(4) I am in the mood for sites that are surprising and exciting (predictable and familiar). (5) I want to look at sites that are bright and colorful (serene and quiet). These scale items were adapted from a larger set of items that was found to indicate desire for arousing stimuli in a study by Mehrabian and Russell (1974, Appendix A). To further test the carry-over effects of the pleasantness of the initial stimuli on later preferences, we asked subjects, after they had been exposed to the juice websites, to choose among three abstract stimuli: colors, music, and designs. Past researchers have established that there are reliable relationships between emotions and preferences for different colors, different types of music, and different types of designs. Walters, Apter and Svebak (1982) found that color preferences at different moments were related to desired stimulation levels at those times, based on the notion that long-wavelength colors (e.g., red, orange) are more stimulating than short-wavelength colors (e.g., blue, violet), which are more relaxing. Using music stimuli, Holbrook and Gardner (1993) found that a desire for more stimulation was associated with preference for increased musical tempo. Mehrabian and Russell (1974) believed that symmetry and pattern in a design might have an impact on emotional responses, with asymmetric, random designs (with their higher information content) providing more stimulation than symmetric, patterned designs. Given the established links between these abstract stimuli choices and the desired level of stimulation, we elicited subjects’ preferences for colors, music, and designs to use them as indicative of their preferences for stimulation at that particular moment in time. Method A total of 64 undergraduate students at a large U.S. university participated in the study as part of a course requirement. Subjects were randomly assigned to the two between-subject experimental conditions. Subjects were told that they would be shown a few sample pages designed for the Internet website of a juice bar, and that we were interested in knowing their feelings as they browsed these pages. They were then shown the website for the juice bar and presented with a menu of five fruit-based drinks. After they had examined the menu, they were presented with the Affect Grid and asked to select a position in the Grid that best represented their feelings while looking at the drinks. Subjects were then asked to indicate their attitudes regarding types of websites they would like to visit. They were also asked about types of colors, music, and designs they would prefer at that point in time. Finally, subjects also rated the drinks on specific properties reflecting their pleasure potential.

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Results Manipulation checks Using the Affect Grid, we found the drinks in the high pleasantness condition induced significantly more pleasure than the drinks in the neutral pleasantness condition (F(1,62) ⫽ 6.98; p ⬍ 0.01; M (high) ⫽ 6.59; M (neutral) ⫽ 5.38), but did not induce higher arousal (F(1,62) ⫽ 0.21; p ⬎ 0.6). We also measured subjects’ perceived pleasantness potential of the drinks by asking them to rate the sites on the following 9-point scales: enjoyable, fun, attractive, makes one feel happy. Cronbach’s ␣ for these four characteristics was 0.92 and their average means are reported as a pleasantness rating. The high pleasantness condition was rated as significantly more pleasant than the neutral pleasantness condition (F(1,62) ⫽ 11.6; p ⬍ 0.001; M (high) ⫽ 6.25; M (neutral) ⫽ 4.89). Thus, we succeeded in creating sites that varied significantly with regard to pleasantness and the degree of pleasure experienced by subjects. Attitudinal measures Cronbach’s ␣ for the 5 attitude items described earlier was 0.81, and we used the mean of the 5 items to form a scale variable labeled EXCITEMENT-SEEKING. The ANOVA model for this variable as a function of pleasantness was significant (F(1,62) ⫽ 28.7; p ⬍ 0.001; M(high) ⫽ 6.65; M(neutral) ⫽ 4.71). Thus, we find support for our prediction that a higher level of pleasures increase the desire to seek more exciting stimuli in the future. Subjects rated their preferences for colors, music, and designs on three semantic scale items using a 9-point scale. For instance, color preference was elicited as follows: “If I were to choose among colors right now, I would tend towards ”. The two scale anchors were red/orange hues (coded as 9) and blue/green hues (coded as 1). We term this variable STIMULATING COLOR. In a similar manner, subjects rated their preference for loud, fast-tempo music (vs. soft, mellow music), and for asymmetric, random designs (vs. symmetric, patterned designs). These variables are referred to as MUSIC TEMPO and ASYMMETRIC DESIGN respectively. Analysis of STIMULATING COLOR showed that the effect of pleasantness was significant (F(1,62) ⫽ 5.57; p ⬍ 0.02). Subjects in the higher pleasantness condition showed a higher preference for more stimulating colors than those in the neutral pleasantness condition (M(high) ⫽ 4.97 and M(neutral) ⫽ 3.53), supporting prediction 1. Preferences for faster tempo music as well as asymmetric designs were also higher when pleasantness was higher in the experimental conditions (M(high) ⫽ 5.41 and M(neutral) ⫽ 2.97, F(1,62) ⫽ 17.6; p ⬍ .001 for MUSIC TEMPO and M(high) ⫽ 5.53 and M(neutral) ⫽ 3.84; F(1,62) ⫽ 8.61; p ⬍ .005 for ASYMMETRIC DESIGN). In sum, Study 1 provides support for our prediction regarding pleasure induced by initial experiences. Pleasure is found to produce favorable attitudes towards future ap-

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proach behavior. In addition, we found evidence that pleasure creates a preference for more stimulating stimuli in subsequent interactions.

Study 2 In Study 2, we designed six websites that were found to induce arousal and pleasure in subjects in an orthogonal 3 ⫻ 2 fashion (high/moderate/low arousal, high/neutral pleasure). Here, we explored how exposure to these websites can affect subsequent shopping behavior in the context of a realistic Internet shopping mall created using MacroMedia Director software. We tested both predictions 1 and 2 in this study. We examined two types of shopping behaviors, browsing or global exploration and selectivity in exploration. Browsing or global exploration behaviors were measured by the time subjects spent in the shopping environment, as well as the number of product categories, stores and sites that they visited in the shopping mall. Selectivity in exploration behaviors was measured by the number of stimulating categories and stimulating stores visited, and the number of promotional interactions in which subjects participants engaged. Method Subjects were 147 undergraduate students at a large U.S. university who participated in the study as part of a course requirement. Participants were told that the purpose of the study was to test a preliminary design for an Internet shopping mall. Before the participants started browsing the shopping mall, they were first exposed to a set of initial websites that embodied the critical manipulations of pleasure and arousal in the study. We presented these initial manipulations in a manner that was clearly independent of the Internet mall experience, so that subjects would not infer anything about the quality or information content of the subsequent mall sites from these initial manipulations. Specifically, the initial manipulations were presented as “warm-up” activities to familiarize subjects with the speed and characteristics of the computer software used in the study. We independently manipulated stimulation at three levels and pleasantness at two levels. Subjects were told to view a series of pictures so that they could get used to the computer. Subjects in the neutral pleasantness condition looked at a series of 12 sequential images of neutral designs and patterns in mild, pastel colors. Subjects in the high pleasantness condition were also presented with a series of 12 images, but in this condition they saw humorous photographs or cartoons. All images in the two conditions were taken from actual material existing on the Internet and were pretested (on a separate set of subjects) to represent high and neutral pleasantness levels.

Immediately after exposure to the pleasure manipulation, subjects were told that in order to practice the browsing task in the main study, they would be shown a “dummy” website for an online bookstore. In order to manipulate stimulation, we developed three sets of book-related stimuli to represent three levels of stimulation (low, moderate, and high). In each condition, subjects were exposed to a collection of four book-related links organized as “aisles” within an Internet bookstore. At each link, subjects could look at a picture of one or two book jackets as well as read a brief commentary on each book. We manipulated stimulation or information load by varying the type of books shown and the visual images as well as the background and layout of the screens encountered. In the high stimulation condition, the background screen colors were bright and each screen was cluttered with a large number of book-related icons and symbols featuring forthcoming titles, sales information, product ads, and so on. In addition, the collections of books presented in the aisles were dissimilar to each other and the pictures of the books shown were brighter-colored and larger relative to those in the other stimulation conditions. In contrast, in the low stimulation condition, the book collection consisted of related nonfiction. The book jackets were shown in black and white in a relatively small size. The screen backgrounds were gray, with black and white links and did not feature any of the symbols and icons seen in the high stimulation condition. The stimuli in the moderate stimulation condition were designed with gray colored screen backgrounds, no icons or symbols, and screens that were similar in layout and arrangement of stimuli. However, the links were presented in bright colors and the collection of books was eclectic. All pages in this initial section were different in design and content from the Internet mall in our actual experiment. Subjects were required to visit each screen in the initial manipulation before they could move on. At the end of this “practice” section, subjects read a transition screen that instructed them that the main study on the Internet mall was about to begin. Subjects were instructed to explore the shopping mall as they pleased, ending their browsing at any point they chose. They could select any category and store to visit, but they were asked to restrict their exploration to a maximum of eight stores. We limited the number of stores they could visit because we wanted subjects to think about what they wanted to visit first, rather than click mechanically in a top-down or left-right fashion. We could have achieved this by putting a time limit on browsing, but reading and browsing times are subject to idiosyncratic variations across individuals. Subjects were also instructed prior to the task that they might come across various promotional offers in the mall and to indicate if they were interested in these offers, with the assurance that their names or email addresses would not be revealed outside the study. The computer software monitored the time spent browsing, the sites that were selected, the order of selection of these sites, and the promotions with

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which they interacted. Subjects were periodically reminded about the number of stores that they had visited and the maximum number that they would be allowed to visit further. If a subject visited the maximum eight stores, he or she was informed that the mall visit was finished. The shopping mall design The mall was organized by product category, with two stores per category. There were eight categories and sixteen stores. Each category was labeled and described. Subjects could click on a category (e.g., Music Alley) that would lead them to a category home page with links to two stores (e.g., Coconuts and The Listening Booth). Each store within the category had 3 web pages, a home page describing the store, a product catalog or product description page (e.g., a list of music CDs topping the charts this month) and a promotionoriented page offering coupons, sweepstakes, free offers, or discounts. At any point, subjects could opt to return to the main mall and switch to a different category/store, or opt to terminate exploration of the mall. The stimuli that comprised the mall were chosen after extensive pretesting on a separate pool of subjects (N ⫽ 52) drawn from the same student population. These pretest subjects were shown a prototype of the mall with categories and stores labeled and described as in the final study. Pretest subjects were asked to rate each category and each store based on how novel and stimulating it seemed from the associated label and description. The eight product categories included in the final study were selected based on these pretest ratings, such that four of the categories were considered more novel and stimulating sites than the other four categories (the respective M’s on a 1–9 scale with 6.20 and 4.50, t ⫽ 6.97, p ⬍ 0.01). Similarly, out of the sixteen stores included in the final mall design, four stores were rated as more novel and stimulating than the rest (the respective M’s on a 1–9 scale with 5.67 and 4.89, t ⫽ 3.35, p ⬍ 0.01). We use choice of these more stimulating categories and stores as relevant measures to test our predictions regarding selectivity in exploration. Results Manipulation checks The six (3 stimulation x 2 pleasure) combinations of stimuli used in the initial manipulation were pretested among a separate group of 73 subjects using the computerbased Affect Grid as in Study 1. We found that the arousal measure was affected significantly by the stimulation manipulation (M(high) ⫽ 5.93, M(moderate) ⫽ 5.35, and M(low) ⫽ 4.31; F(2,67) ⫽ 7.84; p ⬍ .001). Duncan’s multiple range test was used to compare the three means while controlling for the compounding of Type I error in multiple comparisons. The low stimulation condition was significantly different from the high and moderate stimulation conditions at p ⬍ .05, but the high and moderate were not significantly different (p ⬎ .05). Therefore, we were not

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totally successful at manipulating three significantly different levels of stimulation. However, there are consistent directional differences between moderate and high stimulation, so we did not collapse across those conditions. We also found that the pleasure measure was significantly influenced by the pleasantness manipulation (M (high) ⫽ 5.84, M (neutral) ⫽ 4.69; F(1,67) ⫽ 7.88; p ⬍ .007). There were no significant differences between the pleasantness conditions on the arousal measure (F(1,67) ⫽ 0.08; p ⬎ 0.7) or among the stimulation conditions on the pleasure measure (F(2,67) ⫽ 0.57; p ⬎ 0.5), or significant interaction effects for either of the two measures (p ⬎ 0.6), testifying to the independence of the two manipulations. Effects on shopping behaviors We found a significant main effect of pleasantness on most of our shopping variables, strongly supporting prediction 1. Subjects in the high pleasantness conditions were significantly more likely to visit more categories, visit more stores, and visit more websites than were subjects in the neutral pleasantness conditions. (See Table 1 for relevant means.) Subjects in the high pleasantness conditions also visited significantly more stimulating categories and promotional sites than did subjects in the neutral pleasantness conditions. There was directional support indicating that subjects in the high pleasantness cells visited more stimulating stores and engaged in more number of promotional interactions. As Table 2 shows, we found a significant main effect of stimulation on most of our shopping behavior measures, strongly supporting prediction 2. Subjects in the low stimulation conditions searched more categories (M (low) ⫽ 4.88, M (moderate) ⫽ 4.33, M (high) ⫽ 4.05, p ⬍ .03), visited more stores (M (low) ⫽ 6.38, M (moderate) ⫽5.52, M (high) ⫽5.48, p ⬍ .05), and visited more sites (M (low) ⫽20.59, M (moderate) ⫽17.68, M(high) ⫽ 16.76, p ⬍ .02) than subjects in the high stimulation conditions. Similarly, subjects in the low stimulation conditions were significantly more likely to explore the stimulating categories and stores, and to visit the promotional websites and engage in the promotional interactions than were subjects in the high stimulation conditions. None of the shopping behavior measures showed a significant interaction effect of stimulation and pleasantness (p ⬎ 0.13). The effect sizes (119 ⬖␾ ⬖␴ 122) for the various measures ranged from 0.09 to 0.18 for the models with significant results.

General discussion On the Internet, consumers have full control over choice of websites to visit and the information they seek. Unlike a physical retail environment, where the store layout can significantly constrain consumers’ search patterns and choices, consumers traversing the Internet can effortlessly move from one “aisle” to the next, and from one website to

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Table 1 Main effects of pleasure on browsing in shopping mall (study 2) Measures: Global exploration: Browsing time (seconds) Number of categories visited (range: 1–8) Number of stores visited (range: 1–8) Number of sites visited (range: 1–32)a Total number of sites visited (incl. repeat visits) MANOVA for above 5 variables Selective exploration: No. of stimulating categories visited (range: 0–4) No. of stimulating stores visited (range: 0–4) No. of promotional sites visited (range:0–8) No. of promotional interactions (range:0–8) MANOVA for above 4 variables a

High-pleasure (n ⫽ 70)

Neutral-pleasure (n ⫽ 77)

F1,141

p value

325.02 4.94 6.41 20.27 22.81

258.22 3.89 5.17 16.41 18.27

5.23 16.92 13.67 12.05 11.35 F5,137 ⫽ 3.58

0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

2.57 1.80 4.40 2.03

2.02 1.70 3.59 1.60

12.18 0.40 5.72 2.71 F4,138 ⫽ 5.44

0.00 0.53 0.02 0.10 0.00

“Number of sites” includes the number of categories visited and the number of store pages (up to 3 per store) visited.

another. Given a high level of discretion, understanding how initial experiences may affect subsequent experiences becomes particularly important. Using Internet-simulated environments, we controlled the arousal and pleasantness of websites that our subjects initially encountered. We found support for the idea that the stimulation and pleasantness initially encountered will have carry-over effects on subsequent shopping behaviors. Specifically, we found a main effect of the pleasure induced by initial exposure to websites. If consumers are exposed initially to pleasing Internet websites, they are then more likely to engage in subsequent approach shopping behaviors. They will browse more, engage in more unplanned purchasing, and seek out more stimulating products and categories. We also found a main effect of stimulation such that if websites encountered initially are higher in stimulation and information load, consumers will be less

likely to engage in subsequent browsing or shopping behavior that might further increase the overall stimulation. They will be less likely to browse, less willing to examine websites that are too stimulating, and less likely to take part in promotional offers. These findings offer some useful insights to designers of web pages or Internet shopping malls. The order in which consumers are exposed to websites can have significant effects on subsequent purchase behaviors. Our results suggest strong carry-over effects –initially encountered situations and products can shape the rest of the experience. This initial experience can influence whether consumers stay within a particular website and explore the site deeper, move on to other sites, or even move off the web entirely. Thus, marketers should carefully consider the emotional impact of the initial encounter with a website since it can affect their subsequent behavior. If a marketer is advertising

Table 2 Main effects of stimulation on browsing in shopping mall (study 2) Measures: Global exploration: Browsing time (seconds) Number of categories visited (range: 1–8) Number of stores visited (range: 1–8) Number of sites visited (range: 1–32)c Total number of sites visited (incl. repeat visits) MANOVA for above 5 variables Selective exploration: No. of stimulating categories visited (range: 0–4) No. of stimulating stores visited (range: 0–4) No. of promotional sites visited (range: 0–8) No. of promotional interactions (range:0–8) MANOVA for above 4 variables

Low stimulation (n ⫽ 51)

Moderate stimulation (n ⫽ 54)

High stimulation (n ⫽ 42)

F2,141

p value

322.20 4.88b 6.38 20.59ab 23.48ab

298.50 4.33 5.52 17.68a 19.55a

254.14 4.05b 5.48 16.76b 18.60b

1.75 3.55 3.14 4.27 4.94 F10,274 ⫽ 1.34

0.18 0.03 0.05 0.02 0.00 0.21

2.71ab 2.02b 4.64b 2.29ab

2.26a 1.69 3.83 1.57a

1.90b 1.55b 3.50b 1.57b

8.31 3.30 3.97 3.57 F8,276 ⫽ 2.71

0.00 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.00

the mean in the low stimulation condition is higher than the mean in the medium stimulation condition at p ⫽ 0.05. the mean in the Low Stimulation cell is higher than the mean in the High Stimulation cell at p ⫽ 0.05. c Number of sites” includes the number of categories visited and the number of store pages (up to 3 per store) visited. a

b

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its website for directed tasks, such as making a purchase, registering, doing something that involves an immediate reaction, and deeper browsing or exploration is not required or even desired, those websites should perhaps be designed with arousing stimuli. If the initial website is arousing, consumers are more likely to complete their task and less likely to seek other stimulation or move on to other websites. On the other hand, if marketers want to encourage consumers to stay longer at their website, to browse more and to explore different links, they may want to adorn their electronic doorways with very pleasing, enjoyable stimuli to encourage browsing and receptivity to impulse shopping. Prior research in psychology indicates that there may be consistent differences between individuals in the extent of stimulation that they consider pleasing (Zuckerman, 1979). For instance, younger, more educated and higher income consumers prefer higher levels of stimulation than other consumers. In the context of Internet retailing, this implies that managers may do well to customize their website designs based on the demographic profile of their online visitors. Understanding the emotional reactions to website characteristics has implications not only for customization but also for the dynamic presentation of websites. One could speculate that if the emotional state of the consumer could be measured (perhaps by having consumers register their feelings on an “emotion” meter or the “affect grid”) or discerned based on tracking their online browsing activities prior to entering a virtual store, e-retailers could dynamically react to the emotional state of each consumer. Thus, rather than designing static websites, a retailer could design a website to interact with the consumer and adjust to his or her emotional state. If consumers indicate that they are experiencing too much arousal, they can be exposed to simpler web pages. On the other hand, if consumers indicate that they are feeling pleased with what they have witnessed, or if online tracking indicates that they are entering the store from a simple, not very stimulating search engine link, they can then be exposed to more arousing links and experiences. The goal then would be for the retailer to optimize the overall arousal potential of the website to respond to the emotional state of a consumer. On the whole, this research suggests that a browsing and shopping experience on the Internet may be enjoyable and stimulating in and of itself, just as regular store shopping is to some consumers. Browsing on the Internet not only provides cognitive, informational findings, but also provides a hedonic consumption experience. This is consistent with the discussion of “flow” that has often been mentioned in Internet contexts (Hoffman & Novak, 1996). We acknowledge the limitations of the research and our experimental approach. Our findings about the effects of arousal and pleasure emotions on online behavior are likely to hold primarily for exploratory shopping, shopping not motivated by extrinsic goals or rewards. When an Internet shopper has specific purchase or information search goals,

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the influence of atmospheric variables and resulting emotions are likely to be weakened because goals highlight the explicit costs and benefits of search. However, if shopping is such that goals are not critical in importance, there are no binding time constraints, or if it has a strong hedonic component (e.g., searching for recipes or games), we believe that these emotions will have an impact on browsing behavior. Second, in our research, we chose to design a website and simulate an Internet experience rather than measure real-world behavior on the Internet. One of the advantages of our approach is that it used a controlled environment so that we could carefully design our initial stimuli and identify the causal link between the initial emotional experiences and subsequent browsing behavior. Further, we did not try to analyze in detail the sequence of subsequent visits and relate them to dynamic changes in arousal and pleasure evoked by the sites visited along the way. Such a detailed analysis would have presented a strong test of our predictions.

Acknowledgments We acknowledge financial support received from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and The Wharton School Faculty Research Fund for conducting this research.

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