CHOOSING WITH THE LIGHTS ON: THE EFFECTS OF AMBIENT LIGHT ON PRODUCT CHOICES

摘要

There is great variation in the marketplace when it comes to ambient light intensity with some stores and restaurants having very bright lighting and others having very dim lighting. While the ambient light intensity at some stores and restaurants is driven by the architecture of the space, and some stores and restaurants have established guidelines regarding ambient light intensity, in many cases managers have discretion in determining the ambient light levels. Given that managers often have flexibility in selecting how bright or dim a space should be, it seems important to understand how ambient light intensity might influence consumers' choices. We focus specifically on choices between virtue and vice products, mostly in the context of foods where healthy options represent virtues and unhealthy options represent vices. However, we also extend our findings to a non-food budget allocation context. The research question we address is: how does ambient light intensity influence consumers' choices between virtue and vice options?