Perceived control and shopping behavior: The moderating role of the level of utilitarian motivational orientation

Examining the influence of the retail environment on shopping behavior, Kaltcheva and Weitz (2006. When should a retailer create an exciting store environment? Journal of Marketing 70 (January), 107–118) showed that shopping motivation (utilitarian versus hedonic) moderates the relationship between arousal and shoppers’ behavior in the store environment. In particular, they found that high arousal decreases intentions to visit for consumers with a utilitarian motivational orientation. Focusing on this particular type of shopping motivation, we hypothesized that the negative effects of arousal-inducing store environments occur for consumers with higher utilitarian motivations because these environments prevent those specific consumers from controlling their shopping experience. We consequently adapted Kaltcheva and Weitz's (2006) framework by building a model articulating perceived control, stress, pleasure, and return intent. A multigroup analysis of consumers with high versus low utilitarian shopping motivations identified in a field study conducted in Europe gave support to our hypothesis.