Entertainment marketing, experiential consumption and consumer behavior: The determinant of choice of wine in the store

Platania, Marco; Platania, Silvia; Santisi, Giuseppe Article Entertainment marketing, experiential consumption and consumer behavior: The determinant of choice of wine in the store Wine Economics and Policy Provided in Cooperation with: UniCeSV - Centro Universitario di Ricerca per lo Sviluppo Competitivo del Settore Vitivinicolo, University of Florence Suggested Citation: Platania, Marco; Platania, Silvia; Santisi, Giuseppe (2016) : Entertainment marketing, experiential consumption and consumer behavior: The determinant of choice of wine in the store, Wine Economics and Policy, ISSN 2212-9774, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Vol. 5, Iss. 2, pp. 87-95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2016.10.001 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/194520 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ HOSTED BY Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–95 Entertainment marketing, experiential consumption and consumer behavior: the determinant of choice of wine in the store Marco Platania n , Silvia Platania, Giuseppe Santisi University of Catania, Department of Educational Sciences, via della biblioteca 2, Palazzo Ingrassia, 95124 Catania, Italy Received 18 February 2016; received in revised form 1 August 2016; accepted 4 October 2016 Available online 8 October 2016 Abstract The aim of this study is to discover the wine store variables that arouse the desire to purchase in the consumer. Wine is a complex product: its features are better able to be perceived and valued in a suitable sales environment. The store environment contains various stimuli that might be perceived by the customer's senses, and each stimulus offers many variable options. Mehrabian and Russell's framework specifies that individuals react to their environment along at least three dimensions: Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance (PAD). Dismissing (avoidance) and approaching are the behavioral responses of the consumer to these dimensions. There were 130 responding participants in the store. The relationship between emotions stimulated in the store and behavioral responses, which was mediated by environmental stimuli, were central in the results. &2016 UniCeSV, University of Florence. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Keywords: Emotions; Purchase; Atmosphere; Wine; Consumers 1. Introduction The cultural, economic, social and technological advancements in recent decades have contributed to the profound change in our society, largely by changing the systems of production and consumption. The evolution of the concept of “well-being”is no longer limited to the mere process of the subject's adaptation to the environment, but is intended as a complete state of psychological, physical and social wellness (Canavari et al., 2010; Santisi et al., 2014). Consumption led to a qualitative analysis of demand, which brought about a new interpretative model of consumer behavior: the post-modern consumer. From time to time in the consumption experience, people reconstruct their identity by integrating it with the specific situations that they live in at that particular time (Platania, 2010). The buying experience is therefore more and more the result of the interaction between the person and the point of sale environment. The marketing literature has been so enriched by numerous contributions aimed at highlighting how consumers, in the act of purchasing, may be driven by utilitarian motives primarily directed to meet the need of goods or services but also hedonistic and emotional motives that value the purchase and visit to the outlets as pleasure and entertainment (Maturo and Remuzzi, 2005;Muruganantham and Bhakat, 2013; Platania et al., 2012). Over the past decades, the literature has specifically focused its attention on the concept of atmospherics (Kotler, 1973; Turley et al., 2000), i.e., specific instructions that the stimuli arising from the environment have on consumer behavior. The atmosphere is not only capable of stimulating in the consumer judgments on the quality of the product, but of causing the consumer to make repeat purchases. In this sense, the great contribution of Mehrabian and Russell's model to the literature on the environmental stimuli is undeniable. The authors posited that “environmental stimuli influence an individual's emotional state, which in turn affects approach or avoidance responses. In their stimulus–organism–response www.elsevier.com/locate/wep http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2016.10.001 2212-9774/&2016 UniCeSV, University of Florence. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Platania), [email protected] (S. Platania), [email protected] (G. Santisi). Peer review under responsibility of UniCeSV, University of Florence. model, the stimuli are external to the person and consist of various elements of physical atmosphere”(Jang and Namkung, 2009, p.452). However, in academic research, little attention has been paid to other stimuli in service environments. Wine is a particular product because it tries to link strong elements of tradition with elements of continuous innovation (Pallonari, 2010;Bisson et al., 2002;Charters and Pettigrew, 2008). The wine satisfies sensorial and/or psychological aspects of consumption as desires of conviviality, communication, membership and ostentation (Orth, 2005;Orth and Bourrain, 2005; Bruwer and Li, 2007;Smith and Mitry, 2007;Olsen et al., 2007). Given this complexity of reasons, the choice of wine depends on several factors related to the various stages of purchase, including the place of sale typology or the environmental stimuli (Orth and Arnold, 2009;Areni and Kim, 1994; North et al., 1999;Orth and Bourrain, 2005;Platania et al., 2016b). Moreover, thanks to its cultural and economic function, this particular product typology is part of an economic and financial global market that, on one hand, feels the need to innovate and change in the light of a new globalization and, on the other hand, tries to retain its identity and symbolic function (Platania et al., 2015;Charters and Pettigrew, 2006;Zampi and Mattiacci, 2004). The aim of this study is to determine whether affective reactions while shopping can influence the behavioural responses of consumers. The theoretical model to which we refer is the PAD (Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance) model of Mehrabian and Russell (1974 and after), which is set up to understand the cognitive and affective processes that can be activated in the consumer. This frame of reference defines the relationship between the person and the environment in terms of emotions. The subjective variables, which are transient, are therefore dependent on the interaction with the objective situational variables. 2. Theoretical framework 2.1. The wine and the factors affecting consumer choice In recent decades, the wine market has undergone profound changes in consumer behaviour and marketing methods. These changes include the geography of world production and consumption and the direction of exports (Anderson and Nelgen, 2011;Banks and Overton, 2010;Mariani et al., 2011). As for consumption, there was a decline in the traditional producer countries such as France, Italy and Spain in the first decade of the 2000 s. The decrease in consumption occurred due to several factors, including increasing competition from alternative beverages (especially soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverages) and shifting preference from basic towards higher quality wines (Angulo et al., 2000;Jackson et al., 2000; Heijbroek, 2003;Bernetti et al., 2006). In developed countries, wine is, in fact, competing in a beverage market that is saturated, where competitors (producers of soft drinks and beer) are able to develop strong commercial pressure (Brostrom and Brostrom, 2008;Campbell and Guibert, 2006). This especially affects younger consumers, who replaced wine with other alcoholic beverages (especially beer) and soft drinks (Agnoli et al., 2011;Platania et al., 2016a; Marinelli et al., 2014). Several studies have shown that wine is the preferred drink in social situations, such as in bars and restaurants, while other alcoholic beverages were preferred in discos and at home (Engs and Hanson, 1990;De Crespigny et al., 1999). Regarding the shifting preference from basic towards higher quality wines, this corresponds to a consumer behavior that is characterised by hedonistic status and a growing focus on the “health”aspects of wine. How Bernetti et al. (2006, p. 307) highlights: "Quality has thus become the key issue. In the EU, wine sales have declined sharply during the last decade, while high quality wine sales have risen by more than 20 per cent, notably in France, Italy, Germany and the UK. The evidence points clearly to a substitution of quality for quantity, […]this trend is evident in both traditional and new and emerging markets." Another factor is the change in distribution patterns (e.g., the emergence of hypermarkets and retail chains) in which more functional products are often relatively standardized in comparison to complex products such as wine (Gluckman, 1990; Bernetti et al., 2006;Mariani et al., 2012). The wide assortment of wines in supermarkets improves the visibility of the product (Bernetti et al., 2006), but it is necessary to specify, however, that in supermarkets wine is typically sold using price promotions. Their target is the low involvement supermarket shopper who typically buys wine like other grocery items. Ritchie et al. (2010) found that the way supermarkets advertised wine and price discounting caused the price to be the focus rather than other attributes. According to Casini et al. (2006), wine consumers within supermarkets claim to read labels and also be influenced by the position of the product on the shelf and by the price. Changes related to sociological transformations in lifestyle and consumption patterns of workrelated meals must also be considered (Arlott, 1984;Lesch et al., 1991). Despite these events, wine consumption is growing globally (OIV, 2013). The growth, however, is not uniform in the world and is determined by some structural conditions of local demand. For example, importing countries whose consumption is growing, where consumption once limited to the weekends has now extended to the full week, clearly require low-cost products. In contrast, in large consumer countries where the wine market is becoming more and more saturated, only quality wine consumption has noticeably increased (Pomarici et al., 2012;Gil and Sánchez, 1997; Bernetti et al., 2006). The motivation to consume wine in addition to food is hedonistic. Wine is indeed capable of causing fulfilment of the sensorial and/or psychological-social desires, and the consumer is forced to buy it to appreciate the organoleptic characteristics of the product and meet psychological needs or satisfy the desires of conviviality, communication, membership and ostentation (Orth, 2005;Orth and Bourrain, 2005; Bruwer and Li, 2007;Smith and Mitry, 2007;Olsen et al., 2007). Given the complexity of these reasons, during purchase, M. Platania et al. / Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–9588 consumers adopt risk reduction strategies to minimize the risk of making a bad choice (Lacey et al., 2009;Bruwer and Nam, 2010). Indeed, for many consumers the act of purchasing wine is clouded with insecurity. There is concern, for example, that selecting the wrong bottle could result in negative social perceptions. Different researchers have found that risk perception is an important driver of wine purchase behaviour (Lockshin et al., 2006;Mueller et al., 2008). The choice of wine depends on several factors related to the various stages of purchase. Besides the sensory quality, which is one of the attributes closest to the intrinsic quality of the product (Koewn and Casey, 1995;Thompson and Vourvachis, 1995;Mueller and Szolnoki, 2010;Bruwer et al., 2011; Platania and Santisi, 2016), the price is one of the main purchase criteria (Koewn and Casey, 1995;Quester and Smart, 1998;Chaney, 2000;Rasmussen and Lockshin, 1999;Mtimet and Albisu, 2006;Ritchie et al., 2010). It is well-known that price is often used as an indicator of quality when there is not enough information to evaluate the product, which occurs frequently in the choice of a product as complex as wine (Akerlof, 1970;Lockshin et al., 2006;Atkin and Thach, 2012). From another point of view, price is a pre-informative decisive factor in the purchase of the product. Various authors have demonstrated that before going to the store, the consumer determines the amount of money that is available or acceptable to spend, which is an interval that can vary according to the product characteristics and the consumption situation (Halstead, 2002;Jarvis et al., 2003;Casini et al., 2006). Objective criteria, which the consumer is able to directly observe through the label (Lockshin et al., 2006), also influences the choice of consumption. This information is supplied by the producers to reduce information asymmetry that characterizes the wine market, such as origin, grape variety, vintage, name, trademark, alcohol content, place of bottling, etc.) Numerous marketing studies indicate that consumer evaluations are significantly influenced by knowledge of the origin of products (Koewn and Casey, 1995;Quester and Smart, 1998;Chaney, 2000;Orth and Krška, 2002;Platania and Privitera, 2010,Dean, 2002;Jarvis et al., 2003;Angulo et al., 2000;Espejel et al., 2011;Barber, 2009). Designation of origin is among these objective attributes; it informs consumers of the geographical origin of the product and provides a range of quality guarantees. The consumer, especially in Europe, considers the designation of origin one of the most important attributes and is even ready to pay a surcharge (Skuras and Vakrou, 2002;Bernabéu et al., 2001;Lai et al., 2006). It seems clear that the consumer's decision to rely on the guarantee of community protection is a possible strategy to minimize risk in situations where there is insufficient information (Mitchell and Greatorex, 1989). Other attributes are relevant during purchasing, such as the variety, which is directly related to the taste of wine (Koewn and Casey, 1995;Schamel, 2006;Schamel and Anderson, 2003; Halstead, 2002;Orth and Krška, 2002;Ling and Lockshin, 2003) or the year (Combris et al., 1997,2000;Lecocq and Visser, 2006). Other attributes are objective and relate to the packaging, label or name of the wine, which make the product recognizable and characterize the image (Barber and Almanza, 2006;Goodman, 2009;Mueller and Szolnoki, 2012). Finally, the consumer uses the experiences of past consumption as a news source, as with other foodstuffs. By consuming, the consumer builds expectations of quality that represent the reputation (Shapiro, 1982;Landon and Smith, 1997;Kotler et al., 2014). Several studies show that past experience, in fact, has a significant effect on consumer choice (Ling and Lockshin, 2003;Lockshin and Knott, 2009). The objectives of this study are to highlight the importance of factors related to the characteristics of the environment that influence the process of choosing and buying. It should first be noted that customer satisfaction and loyalty may be strictly dependent on sales characteristics (Kumar and Shah, 2004;Oliver, 1999). Various studies have shown a direct relationship between the quality of the vendor-customer relationship and purchase intent (Macintosh and Lockshin, 1997;Rundle-Thiele, 2005). Kolyesnikova, et al. (2008) showed how “gratitude”(and therefore, the consequent fidelity) could be due to positive sales experiences. The typology of the place of sale appears to be able to determine the choice of wine. According to Pan et al. (2008), the atmosphere that is created within wine tasting halls contributes to customer satisfaction, while Lockshin and Corsi (2012) argue that consumers seem to be less confident purchasing wine in a restaurant than in a shop, and if those who are inexperienced have no suggestions from the staff (waiter/sommelier), they try to remember what has been tried in the past. It seems clear that the consumer's characteristics are crucial to both the choice of the place of purchase and the availability to the sensory involvement (Vigar-Ellis et al., 2015). The environmental stimuli capable of stimulating consumer choices include music, lighting, and aromas in the point of sale (Orth and Arnold, 2009). For example, both lighting and the type of music (classical rather than modern) affect the buying behaviour of consumers (Areni and Kim, 1994), as does geographic origin (North et al., 1999). Orth and Bourrain (2005) analysed the effect of a perfumed atmosphere on purchasing behaviour, showing that wine aromas enhanced the search for product variety and buying behaviour based on curiosity. 2.2. Experiential shopping The deepening of studies on the positive or negative feelings caused by stores led to the birth of the so-called line of research of experiential shopping (Castaldo and Botti, 1999;Puccinelli, et al., 2009;Wu et al., 2014), which is defined as, “The act of purchase of services and goods stimulated by the combined, in the store, and environmental sensory stimuli can elicit an emotional response in those individuals who have an attitude towards recreational shopping”(Cabiddu, 2007, p.151). The experiential perspective proposes that instruments, defined as experience providers (Schmitt, 1999), can contribute to the success of a product. This includes the design of the product, packaging, atmosphere of the store, music, space, events, contexts of consumption and advertising (Golfetto, et al., 2005). M. Platania et al. / Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–95 89 Some companies, however, still adopt traditional instruments for measuring performance, focusing only on utilitarian aspects of consumption and disregarding the impact that emotions have on the value perceived by the consumer. However, the “shopping experience”is based on the assumption that because the consumer is always looking for pleasure, he or she will return to those places that have cultivated positive emotions (Santisi and Platania, 2014;Caridà et al., 2010;Falk and Campbell, 1997). For this reason, some companies, given the positive results of the first actions tested in the field, began to invest in measures aimed at creating emotionally engaging atmospheres (Tyszka and Zaleskiewicz, 2007). Pine and Gilmore (1999) stated that the US economy is based on selling experiences, and according to Platania and Santisi (2014), each product can be turned into a memorable experience. Zaltman (2003) asserted that to guide the experience, companies need in depth analyses of the minds and hearts of their customers to understand what type of experience will satisfy them. At the same time, Schmitt (1999) believed that the goal of experiential marketing is not the satisfaction of the consumer, but the experience. This experience is articulated by three main parts: 1) it starts from the moment the consumer goes to a store to buy something (thinking of necessity); 2) it continues with the act of purchase (the time of choice); and 3) it ends with the use of the product (use of the property). For experiential marketing, consumption is a global experience that exceeds the report of satisfaction with an individual good or service, and the consumer is no longer understood to represent a customer, but an active player with his or her own personality and desires (Ofir et al., 2008;Rose et al., 2012;Kamaladevi, 2010). The emotional, unconscious, irrational, senses-based desires of the consumer is the new frontier of marketing (experiential or emotional). The goal is to offer the consumer a memorable shopping experience that stimulates all of the senses. In the store, we identify spatial and social dimensions (De Luca and Vianelli, 2001;Carrington, et al., 2010;Korgaonkar, 1981). The spatial dimension consists of both the tangible and intangible environmental aspects that can be used inside the store. The social dimension consists of both direct and indirect relationships that are established between the various parties at the place of purchase, which can affect individual behaviour in various ways. However, the atmosphere designed by the store and the atmosphere perceived by the consumer may not coincide. This can vary according to a variety of subjective factors, such as socio-demographic characteristics, motivations, states before and after purchase, information level and degree of involvement of the consumer. The latter in particular has been recognized as one of the keys to understanding the relationship between the environment, the purchase behaviour and consumption (Moye and Kincade, 2002). Additionally, the choice of a store by the consumer is the result of a long and complex process which depends on the type of product to be purchased and, above all, the characteristics of the consumer. 3. Reference model and research hypotheses The literature reviewed above showed that the environment can be a powerful stimulus that is able to direct the conduct and choices of consumers. It is also able to create a bond of continuity and trust with the consumer. Through the analysis and study of environmental psychology, Mehrabian and Russell (1974) suggested that environmental stimuli (S) lead to an emotional reaction (O) that, in turn, drives the consumer's behavioural response (R) based on the stimulus-organismresponse (S-O-R) paradigm (Jang and Namkung, 2009). Mehrabian and Russell believed that the physical and social stimuli in an environment are able to influence emotional states, conveyed by the personality of an individual. Most research on retailing has included determining whether affective reactions while shopping can affect behavioural responses as a main objective (Baker and Cameron, 1996;Bellizzi and Hite, 1992;Hightower et al., 2002;Baker et al., 2002). Moreover, Donovan and Rossiter (1982) and Donovan et al. (1994) examined the O–R linkage of the Mehrabian and Russell model and maintained that pleasure is a powerful determinant of approach–avoidance behaviours within stores. First, this study considers additional constructs (i.e., product and service stimuli) along with atmospheric stimuli to create a more comprehensive evaluation. Furthermore, this study aims to identify whether the ratio between the two above-mentioned dimensions is mediated by environmental stimuli (Fig. 1). Our research was inspired by the stresses provided by the literature and is detailed as follows: H1 :there is a positive correlation between emotional states (PAD) and behavioural responses; H2 :there is a positive correlation between the PAD and environmental stimuli; H3 :environmental stimuli mediate the relationship of linear dependence between the PAD and behavioural responses. 4. Method 4.1. Participants and procedure The research was conducted within a luxury wine bar in the province of Catania (Italy). We focused on the quality of the retailer-customer relationship (De Wulf et al., 2001), where customer loyalty is a multidimensional construct consisting of both psychological and behavioural components. For this, we Fig. 1. Conceptual Framework. M. Platania et al. / Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–9590 applied the concept of the degree of customer loyalty (Contaldo and Largo, 2006), stating that it, unlike satisfaction, is free from the customer's subjective perception and instead adheres to the customer's affective behaviour with respect to the company (in this case, the point of sale). To apply this concept, 450 questionnaires were collected in the store at the end of the product tasting, and we examined the contributions of 130 participants (customers of the wine bars) whose degree of loyalty was above 50%. The final sample consisted of 130 wine customers, including 83 women and 47 men, with a mean age of 32.03 (SD¼0.8), and who belonged to an income band up to €30,000.00. The participation in the study was completely voluntary, data were collected anonymously and the participants could refuse to participate at any time. Research procedures complied with the ethical guidelines and code of conduct of the APA (American Psychological Association) and AIP (Italian Psychological Association). In our data analysis, we followed the structural equation model obtained through the AMOS 21.0 software (Arbuckle and Wothke, 1999). The study was done in the evenings of different days of the week during January 2015 and June 2015. 4.2. Measures The data of this study were collected through a semistructured questionnaire for which the necessary precautions were taken to ensure the absolute anonymity. It was aimed at investigating the following constructs: 4.2.1. Behavioural responses in terms of approach/avoidance To detect behaviours of approach (positive) or avoidance (negative) with respect to different environmental situations, we asked participants to answer seven items placed on a fivepoint scale. In this scale, 1¼strongly disagree and 5¼absolutely agree. Examples of items include “indications in the store are clear”and “it would be nice to have more time to turn inside the store.”The alpha for this scale was equal to.68. 4.2.2. The emotional states of purchase (PAD) To indicate emotional states of purchase, consumers were asked to respond to a semantic differential of seven points consisting of 12 bipolar pairs. Four bipolar pairs measured attitudes related to the sense of pleasure that a consumer gains from the purchase experience (Pleasure), from “HappyUnhappy”; the alpha for this scale was equal to.73. Four bipolar pairs measured the sense of excitement towards the purchase (Arousal), from “Stimulated-Laid”; the alpha was equal to.74. Finally, four bipolar pairs measured the attitude of the consumer towards the control and domination that he or she can exercise in the store (Dominance), from “FreeChecked”; the alpha was equal to.77. 4.2.3. Environmental stimuli We also used three semantic differentials placed on a 7-point scale to measure the influence of environmental stimuli on consumer purchasing. The first semantic differential statement was, “The atmosphere of this shop is…”It was composed of 6 pole pairs, including “Extraneous-Family”and “MonotoneCool”(α¼.72). The second semantic differential evaluated the claim, “The environment of this store is…”It was comprised of 6 pairs of bipolar adjectives, such as “Messy-Ordained”and “Old-Modern”(α¼.71). The third semantic differential asked participants to pass judgment on two bipolar adjectives related to the affirmation “The assortment of the store is…”The adjectives were “Limited-Wide”and “Outmoded-Current” (α¼.87). 4.3. Data analysis The survey data were analysed with structural equation modelling (SEM). Tests were completed in AMOS 20.0 (Arbuckle and Wothke, 1999), applying the maximumlikelihood (ML) method. The SEM approach was then used to test the mediation model shown in Fig. 1. Mediation is a hypothesized causal chain in which one variable affects a second variable that, in turn, affects a third variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). To test the factor structure of the scales used, confirmatory factor analyses were performed (Jöreskog and Long, 1993). To verify the adequacy of the models, we used χ 2 ; a solution fits Graph 1. Average values of behavioral responses. Table 1 Gender differences on the variables of response to the environment. Males N¼34 Females N¼96 Difference p M SD M SD t (gl) 4) 3.79 1.19 4.32 .91 4.75 128 o.001 5) 2.55 1.70 3.89 1.19 8.60 128 o.001 6) 2.63 1.69 2.99 1.14 2.30 128 .02 7) 2.35 1.92 3.46 1.36 6.30 128 o.001 M. Platania et al. / Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–95 91 the data well when χ 2 is non-significant (p4.05). Given that this statistic is sensitive to sample size, the two-index strategy (Hu and Bentler, 1999) entailing the combined use of comparative fit index (CFI; Bentler, 1990) and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR; Bentler, 1995) was used. The model fits the data well if the CFI is greater than or equal to .95 and the SRMR is smaller than or equal to .08. In addition, to check the suitability of the model, we ran through the structural equation modelling confirmatory factor analysis (χ 2 ¼172.383, po.001, CFI¼.94; RMSEA¼.04); the indices confirmed the good fit of the model to the sample interviewed. 5. Results The behavioural responses of Approach/Avoidance indicate that with “approach”, responding consumers had a high desire to return to the point of sale (M¼4.16; SD¼1.02) (Graph 1). “At this store is nice to take advice”(M¼3.72, SD¼.26) indicated that consumers also believed it to be a point of strength. Finally, the item “Indications inside the store are clear”(M¼3.69, SD¼.16) contains another element of distinction. These data seem to show that the environment created in the store is able to stimulate an approach response in the consumer. The “removal”seems to be determined by the lack of relationship between customers and the wine shop, in which it is not easy to exchange opinions (M¼2.86, SD¼1.27). In turn, this probably leads to the customer not wanting to stay long in the store (M¼2.98, SD¼1.16). Interestingly, it was noted that there were four items (4, 5, 6, and 7) in which gender differences were statistically significant (see Table 1). In all four of the items, women felt more involved and stimulated from the store environment than men. As shown in Table 2, the descriptive statistics and correlations is significant for all three constructs (the PAD, environmental stimuli and behavioural stimuli). The relationship expressed between the PAD (r¼.58) and environmental stimuli is strong. This indicates that there is a link between the emotional state that the purchase has been able to elicit the consumer and the environment that has been created in the store. This is what the hypothesis H1 model proposed. Table 3 and the graph below (Fig. 2) show the values obtained through the Baron and Kenny mediation procedure. The hypothesis H2 predicted that the emotional states of purchase (PAD) would correlate positively with behavioural responses, and the results support this hypothesis (β¼.63, R 2 ¼.08, po.001). These results are also consistent with the hypothesis H3, which assumed that the environmental stimuli might act as mediator between the emotional states stimulated in the store and the behavioural responses of consumers. Based on the procedure used to confirm the mediation (Baron and Kenny, 1986), the PAD must provide environmental stimuli and the relationship between the PAD and behavioural responses should be reduced drastically. The results in the table show that: (a) the PAD predicts the behavioural responses of consumers towards the store (β¼.63, R 2 ¼.08, po.001); (b) the PAD predicts environmental stimuli (β¼.28, R 2 ¼.08, po.001); (c) the effect of emotional states (PAD) on behavioural responses is reduced after controlling environmental stimuli (β¼.18, R 2 ¼.07, po.05; indirect effect¼.34; po.001). Additionally, a bootstrap test (Preacher and Hayes, 2008;Hayes and Preacher, 2014;Hayes et al., 2009) carried out in 2000 bootstrap samples, with a confidence interval of 95%, indicated that there is partial mediation (Lower limit ¼.085; Upper limit ¼.284; z¼.042, po.001). 6. Discussion For several years, the marketing research has sought to understand the various influences that experience and environment have on consumer behaviour and choices. Previous research has applied the Mehrabian and Russell model to examine the role of environmental stimuli in creating emotions and influencing the behaviour of consumers. Table 2 Descriptive statistics and correlations between the size of aggregate analyzes (Spearman's Rho coefficient) N¼130 *. Variables MSD123 1. PAD (Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance) 5.73 0.71 2. Environmental stimuli 5.74 0.76 0.58** 3. Behavioral Responses 4.06 0.74 0.51** 0.52** *( **po.001). Table 3 HLM mediation model in three steps, the procedure of Baron and Kenny (1986); environmental stimuli as mediators of the PAD and behavioral stimuli *. Variables Dependent Mediator Step1 Ββ PAD–Behavioral Responses .63* R 2 ¼.08 Step2 PAD–Environmental Stimuli .28* R 2 ¼.08 Step3 PAD–Environmental Stimuli–Behavioral Responses .18** .34* R 2 ¼.07 *( **po.001). Fig. 2. Summary of the research model proposed (the values shown are estimates of regression coefficients). Notes: *po0.05 and ***po0.001. M. Platania et al. / Wine Economics and Policy 5 (2016) 87–9592 However, very few have focused on the impact emotional states can have on the behavioural responses of the consumer and of how feelings can influence this relationship. By nature, wine is a commodity that can stimulate the consumer's behavioural responses both with the product quality and the social function and conviviality to which it refers. In this report, the environment is able to determine negative/positive responses by the consumer's approach/avoidance of the retailer (in our case, the luxury wine bar). This study aimed to theoretically and empirically analyse the ability of the store to stimulate the consumer's emotions to induce him or her to buy. In particular, we investigated the influence and importance that environmental stimuli have in mediating the relationship between the buying behaviour and emotional state of the consumer who is purchasing wine. The results obtained highlighted some interesting reflections that are useful both in management and as part of academic research in the field. The main results of the Mehrabian and Russell model confirm that there is a relationship between atmosphere, emotional states and consumer behaviour. The research participants claimed, in principle, that they found the atmosphere of the luxury wine bar extremely pleasant because they can “breathe.”In addition, the pleasure towards the environment was felt by the female gender with greater impact. Finally, we confirmed the main hypothesis that the environment acts as a (partial) mediator for the emotional responses that the store evokes in consumers and the behavioural responses of the final purchase. The direct relationship that is established with consumers over time through the point of sale bears value that becomes established and stabilizes over time (Gasiorowska et al., 2012). Wine, as a product, still requires more discussion in terms of value, as it has the ability to provide utilitarian functions to the consumer as well hedonistic, sensory and convivial. The store featured in this report appears to be a place of excellence. Our study also had limitations that we propose to overcome with future research. We considered the influence of gender, noting that the female gender shows a higher "sensitivity" to the store, but we have not taken account of other variables such as income. 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