“Evolutionary Store Atmospherics” – Designing with Evolution in Mind

Environmental psychology research shows that natural environments and natural habitat qualities are better able to positively influence human functioning (e.g., stress reduction) than most common urban environments. Such positive psychological states are often interpreted as remnants of our species’ evolutionary history in natural environments. Nowadays a substantial part of the urban fabric is dedicated to commercial and business-related activities. Such environments however often lack those natural habitat qualities and elements, which have been found to promote positive psychological states. This chapter aims to demonstrate and illustrate the value of integrating such natural qualities into business-related environments, and specifically into retail environments. We coin this design strategy “Evolutionary Store Atmospherics” (ESA). The scope of this chapter is theoretical as well as practical. On the one hand, we provide an overview of the specific “ancestral” landscape elements and qualities that are found to have positive effects on human functioning. On the other hand, we discuss and illustrate how these key qualities can be integrated in store environments. Special attention is paid to situational factors that could interact with ESA design proposals, such as, for example, gender and type of shopping.