THE EFFECT OF THE STORE ATMOSPHERE ON THE CONSUMER SHOPPING BEHAVIOR IN CAMEROON

This article aims to understand the influence of the store atmosphere on shopping behavior. Unlike most previous studies, in this article, we addressed the subject of the influence of store atmosphere on consumer behavior in a gestalt-like, integrative manner. After a survey carried out on about 487 individuals in 20 stores in the cities of Douala, Ngaoundéré and Yaoundé, and based on two statistical tests (Chi-square and one-factor ANOVA), it emerges that the ambient environment and the social environment have an influence on the in-store shopping behavior, whereas the design environment has not. In this research we tried to appreciate the strategic interest of the atmosphere on the behavior of visiting the points of sale. It has thus been shown that the more the consumer engages in shopping behavior in a point of sale, the more the store atmosphere directly impacts on his behavior by means of affective states.