The Way the Wind Blows: Direction of Airflow Energizes Consumers and Fuels Creative Engagement

Abstract

Retail spaces contain copious sensory information that can affect consumers’ shopping behavior. This research investigates a novel, yet ubiquitous, retail atmospheric variable: airflow direction. We examine how the sensory experience of frontal (vs. dorsal) airflow energizes consumers in retail spaces and influences creative engagement. Five studies demonstrate that frontal airflow (air blowing on the front of the body) boosts energetic activation and fuels enhanced performance on creative tasks, compared to dorsal airflow (air blowing on the back of the body). Study 1 establishes the link between frontal (vs. dorsal) airflow and energetic activation in a laboratory setting. Study 2 tests the full model in a laboratory setting to provide initial evidence that frontal (vs. dorsal) airflow enhances creativity and that energetic activation drives this effect. Using a visualization task and an online setting, study 3 conceptually replicates airflow direction’s effect on creativity and the mediating role of energetic activation, while study 4 shows evidence of the mediating role of energetic activation via a moderation design. Study 5, an outdoor field study, provides further support for the predicted relationship between airflow direction and creative engagement. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for retailing are also discussed.