According to new research by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), and Northwestern University in the United States, lighting significantly influences consumer choice. The study suggests that a darker environment decreases passionate associations with others, leading individuals to be more genuine to their own needs.
Thus, they are more likely to choose what they believe will give them greater pleasure, rather than what they think provides the most functional value. This inclination for pleasurable or hedonic items is diminished when they are reminded of their close ties, such as family and friends.
Assistant Professor Irene Huang from NTU’s Nanyang Business School said, “The results suggest that brighter surroundings may be better if one wants to highlight products prized for their function, while a dimmer environment works better for products prized for pleasure. The potential implication is that shop owners can adjust the store lighting to suit specific marketing campaigns, for example, to emphasize the functional or hedonic aspects of their products.”
“Often, for the same type of product, consumers may be choosing between what they like and what they find more practical. We inferred from previous literature that people feel less intense emotions and feel emotionally disconnected from others in darker surroundings. Thus, we set out to find out if a darker environment can lead to people choosing what they truly want for themselves.”
Drawing on the current literature on distributed investigations, the writers note that a great deal is thought about how consumers perceive their environment; however, few studies have examined the effect of lighting on shoppers’ decisions between what the researchers term “practical” and “hedonic” products.
In the first of three investigations, around 100 students from an Asian college were asked to choose between an unobtrusively attractive seat with prominent backrest support and a sharp seat with limited back support.
The members were arbitrarily relegated to one of four conditions: right off the bat a dull or sufficiently bright PC lab setting, and afterward inside that setting, regardless of whether their decision is perceptible (i.e. picking a seat for their office) or non-discernible by others (i.e. picking a seat for their room). Results demonstrated a more pronounced inclination for the polished seat oblivious room, even when it was in a private setting without public observation.
In the second investigation, 180 members enrolled from an online stage were randomly assigned to either dull or sufficiently bright conditions. They were asked to choose between a skilled job competitor and a funemployment hopeful; a versatile application for work and a portable application for entertainment; a reliable computer for the home office and a polished workstation for the home office; and between a narrative drama and a romantic comedy.
A short time later, the members addressed inquiries that deliberated the amount they needed to be consistent with themselves, which involved settling on the decisions that they required.
The findings showed that it was the emotional disconnection in darkness, rather than the lack of scrutiny by others, that resulted in a preference for hedonic options. When in darkness, the participants were more actual to themselves and followed their heart, with a greater preference for the hedonic option as well.
Assistant Professor Huang said, “There are other factors that affect consumer choice. For example, when a person has been through a situation where they have less control, such as a traffic jam, he is more likely to buy functional products. Or when it is very difficult to choose, one will just follow their heart. But marketers would still find it worthwhile to bear the effect of ambient lighting in mind when highlighting the hedonic or functional aspects of the products.”
In a paper published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing in March 2018, Assistant Professor Irene Huang from NTU’s Nanyang Business School, and Assistant Professor Ping Dong and Professor Aparna Labroo, both from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, pinpointed the effect of ambient lighting in making consumer choices, through three related studies.
Journal Reference
- Huang, X. (., Dong, P., & Labroo, A. A. (2018). Feeling disconnected from others: The effects of ambient darkness on hedonic choice. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 35(1), 144-153. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2017.12.005