A Study on the impact of physical environment and quality attributes in chocolate specialty stores on positive emotions and word-of-mouth intention

The current study aimed to investigate the impacts of the physical environment (cleanliness, aesthetics, and convenience) and quality attributes (taste, packaging, and shape) of chocolate specialty stores on customers’ positive emotions and word-of-mouth intention. To this end, an online survey was conducted through a convenience sampling method targeting customers with prior experience of purchasing chocolate products and services. The survey questionnaires were distributed via Google forms from 266 participants for this empirical analysis. The hypotheses testing results are as follows. First, the aesthetic aspect of the physical environment laid a positive effect on the customers’ positive emotions, whereas cleanliness and convenience did not. Second, the quality attributes, viz. packaging and shape positively influenced the positive emotions, whereas taste exhibited no significant effect. Third, positive emotions positively influenced the word-of-mouth intention. Fourth, cleanliness and aesthetics of the physical environment laid positive effects on word-of-mouth intention, whereas convenience showed no significant influence. Fifth, the quality attributes, namely the taste and shape affected the word-of-mouth intention positively, while the packaging showed no significant effect. These findings suggest that the physical environment and quality attributes of chocolate specialty stores play significant roles in enhancing customer satisfaction by promoting positive emotions and word-of-mouth intention.