Chirping birds and barking dogs: The interactive effect of ambient sensory cue source and valence on consumers’ choice of natural products

A longstanding assumption underlying retail atmospherics is that positive sensations are inherently more advantageous to sales than negative ones. Using an approach-avoidance motivation framework, we challenge this assumption and highlight situations where unpleasant sensations may be beneficial to both consumers and businesses. In two studies with consequential decisions involving natural and conventional/processed products, we demonstrate an interactive effect of ambient sensory cue source and valence on product choices. We find evidence for this effect across auditory and olfactory sensory modalities. We further demonstrate that this effect is mediated by accessibility of natural (vs. non-natural) concepts and that it occurs primarily among individuals who are intrinsically motivated to consume natural products. Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that ambient sensory cues may have a strong impact on consumers’ product choices. Our findings extend prior work on ambient sensations within retail environments and highlight the role of affect-laden sensations, particularly negative ones – an area that has received very little attention in the literature.