Effects of store fixture shape at retail checkout: Evidence from field and online studies

Abstract

Previous research from both marketing and operations management has shown that servicescape design, as an effective retail operations strategy, can significantly influence consumers’ purchases. We extend this literature by investigating how fixture shape, an important environmental factor that has received little attention in previous studies, can influence consumer purchase intentions at retail checkout. Findings from a field study and three online experiments consistently suggest that tower-shaped fixtures, in comparison to other conventional fixtures, can increase checkout purchase intentions. Moreover, the proposed effect is driven by the increased visual attention to products when displayed on tower fixtures. We also identify consumers’ information processing style (i.e., more vs. less reliant on visual processing) as a theoretically relevant moderator. Specifically, customers who rely more heavily on visual information processing are more susceptible to the influence of a tower fixture than those who rely less on visual information processing. Through this research, we contribute novel insights to the understanding of display fixtures and retail operation management. This study augments the design task from product shape to fixture shape for manufacturers, and sheds light on retailer merchandising strategy as well as retail space management at checkout.