An in-depth understanding of multisensory customer experiences could inform and transform service experiences across the touchpoints of customer journeys. Sensory research in service and marketing disciplines mostly refers to individual senses in isolation. However, relevant insights could be gleaned from other disciplines to explore the multisensory nature of customer experiences. Noting the fragmented state of research surrounding such topics, the current article presents a systematic, objective overview of the content and theoretical foundations underlying the notion of multisensory customer experiences. Seeking a holistic understanding and research agenda for service research, the authors adopt both text mining and co-citation analyses overlaying findings from the cross-disciplinary foundation to uncover relevant theoretical, conceptual, and methodological developments. The resulting research agenda encourages scholars to employ diverse theories and methods to investigate multisensory stimuli, their integration, and perception, as well as the link between multisensory customer experiences and emotions. These insights then can inform the design of multisensory omnichannel service experiences.
AjzenIcekFishbeinMartin (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
2.
AntonsDavidBreidbachChristop F. (2018), “Big Data, Big Insights? Advancing Service Innovation and Design with Machine Learning,” Journal of Service Research, 21 (1), 17–39.
3.
AydinogluNilüfer Z.KrishnaAradhna (2019), “The Power of Consumption-Imagery in Communication Retail-Store Deals,” Journal of Retailing, 95 (4), 116–127.
4.
BiesenthalChristopherWildenRalf (2014), “Multi-level Project Governance: Trends and Opportunities,” International Journal of Project Management, 32 (8), 1291–1308.
5.
BiswasDipayan (2019), “Sensory Aspects of Retailing: Theoretical and Practical Implications,” Journal of Retailing, 95 (4), 111–115.
6.
BiswasDipayanSzocsCourtney (2019), “The Smell of Healthy Choices: Cross-Modal Sensory Compensation Effects of Ambient Scent on Food Purchases,” Journal of Marketing Research, 56 (1), 123–141.
7.
BiswasDipayanLabrecqueLaurenLehmannDonaldMarkosEreni (2014), “Making Choices while Smelling, Tasting, and Listening: The Role of Sensory (Dis)similarity when Sequentially Sampling Products,” Journal of Marketing, 78 (1), 112–126.
8.
BitnerMary J. (1992), “Servicescape: The Impact of Physical Sourroundings on Customers and Employees,” Journal of Marketing, 56 (2), 57–71.
9.
BlondelVincent D.GuillaumeJean-LoupLambiotteRenaudLefebvreEtienne (2008), “Fast Unfolding of Communities in Large Networks,” Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 2008 (10), 1742–5468.
10.
BreugelmansElsCampoKatia (2016), “Cross-Channel Effects of Price Promotions: An Empirical Analysis of the Multi-Channel Grocery Retail Sector,” Journal of Retailing, 92 (3), 333–351.
11.
CassaniLucíaFiszmanSusanaAlvarezMaría V.MoreiraMaría R.LagunaLauraTarregaAmparo (2020), “Emotional Response Evoked When Looking at and Trying a New Food Product, Measured Through Images and Words. A Case-Study with Novel Fruit and Vegetable Smoothies,” Food Quality and Preference, 84 (103955), 1–12.
12.
CaterinaMichael J.SchuhmacherMark A.TominagoMakotoRosenTobias A.LevenJon D.JuliusDavid (1997), “The Capsaicin Receptor: A Heat-Activated Ion Channel in the Pain Pathway,” Nature, 389 (6653), 816–834.
13.
ChaoZenas C.TakauraKanaWangLipingFujiNaotakaDehaeneStanislas (2018), “Large-Scale Cortical Networks for Hierarchical Prediction and Prediction Error in the Primate Brain,” Neuron, 100 (5), 1252–1266.
14.
ChronisAthinodoros (2019), “The Staging of Contested Servicescapes,” Journal of Service Research, 22 (4), 456–473.
15.
CicchiniGuido MarcoMikellidouKyriakiBurrDavid (2017), “Serial Dependencies Act Directly on Perception,” Journal of Vision, 17 (14), 1–9.
16.
DriverJonSpenceCharles (2000), “Multisensory Perception: Beyond Modularity and Convergence”, Current Biology, 10 (20), 731–735.
17.
FangHuiZhangJieSensoryMuratMagnenat-ThalmannNadia (2014), “Reputation Mechanism for E-commerce in Virtual Reality Environments, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 13 (6), 409–422.
FulkersonM. (2014). “Explaining multisensory experience,” in Consciousness Inside and out: Phenomenology, Neuroscience, and the Nature of Experience. BrownR., eds. Dordrecht: Springer, 365-373.
20.
FürstAndreasPečornikNinaBinderChristian (2021), “All or Nothing in Sensory Marketing: Must All or Only Some Sensory Attributes Be Congruent With a Product’s Primary Function?,” Journal of Retailing, 97 (3) 439–458.
21.
GodboldPaulGodboldNatashaWittenbergSimonPhaguraSabiKelsallLeanneChin HuatOngWebbJeremyAllanJennyNicklinHelenaKanCharlotteCarleyJaneRobertsEmilyPatelReenaZeffiroSimoneBaskaGinaOhSweeKinsleyPaulNorthStevenHaywardPeterBlakeSarah (2020), “Kitchen Theory to Bring Multisensory Dining into Your Own Home,” Luxurious Magazine, April 29, available athttps://www.luxuriousmagazine.com/kitchen-theory-multisensory-dining/(accessed on August 2nd 2021).
22.
GrewalDhruvRoggevenAnne I.PuccinelliNancy M.SpenceCharles (2014), “Atmospherics and In-Store Nonverbal Cues: An Introduction,” Psychology & Marketing, 31 (7), 469–471.
23.
HelmefalkMiralemBerndtAdele (2018), “Shedding Light on the Use of Single and Multisensory Cues and Their Effect on Consumer Behaviours,” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 46 (11/12), 1077–1091.
24.
HelmefalkMiralemHulténBertil (2017), “Multisensory Congruent Cues in Designing Retail Store Atmosphere: Effect’s on Shoppers Emotions and Purchase Behavior,” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 38 (September), 1–11.
25.
HirschmanElizabeth, C.HolbrookMorris, B. (1982), “Hedonic Consumption: Emerging Concepts, Methods and Propositions,” Journal of Marketing, 46 (3), 92–101.
26.
KahnBarbara E. (2017), “Using Visual Design to Improve Customer Perception of Online Assortments,” Journal of Retailing, 93 (1), 29–42.
27.
KauschkeChristinaBahnDanielaVeskerMichaelSchwarzerGudrun (2019), “The Role of Emotional Valence for the Processing of Facial and Verbal Stimuli– Positivity and Negativity Bias?” Frontiers in Psychology, 10 (1654), 1–15.
28.
KimMinjeongKimJung-HwanParkMinjungYooJungmin (2021), “The Roles of Sensory Perceptions and Metal Imagery in Consumer Decision-Making,” Journal of Retailling and Consumer Services, 61 (July), 102517.
29.
KrakauerJohn W.CianLucaAydinğluNilüfer Z. (2017), “Sensory Aspects of Package Design,” Journal of Retailing, 93 (1), 43–54.
30.
KrishnaAradhna (2012), “An Integrative Review of Sensory Marketing: Engaging the Senses to Affect Perception, Judgment, and Behavior,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22 (3), 332–351.
31.
LaflaquièreAlbanO’ReganJ. KevinGasBrunoTerekhovAlexander (2018), “Discovering Space – Grounding Spatial Topology and Metric Regularity in a Naive Agent’s Sensorimotor Experience,” Neural Network, 105 (September), 371–392.
32.
LeeHye-SongLopetcharatKannapon (2017), “Effect of Culture on Sensory and Consumer Research: Asian Perspectives,” Current Opinion in Food Science, 15 (June), 22–29.
33.
LieschPeter W.HåkansonLarsMcGaugheySara L.MiddletonStuartCretchleyJulia (2011), “The Evolution of the International Business Field: A Scientometric Investigation of Articles Published in its Premier Journal,” Socientometrics, 88 (1), 17–42.
34.
LipkinMichaela (2016), “Customer Experience Formation in Today’s Service Landscape,” Journal of Service Management, 27 (5), 678–703.
35.
MahrDominikSteadSusanOdekerken-SchröderGaby (2019), “Making Sense of Customer Service Experiences: A Text Mining Review, Journal of Services Marketing, 33 (1), 88–103.
36.
MariMichelaPoggesiSara (2013), “Servicescape Cues and Customer Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda,” The Service Industries Journal, 33 (2), 171–199.
MathiesChristineBurfordMarion (2011), “Customer Service Understanding: Gender Differences of Frontline Employees,” Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 21 (6), 636–648.
39.
MattilaAnna S.WirtzJochen (2001), “Congruency of Scent and Music as a Driver of In-store Evaluations and Behavior,” Journal of Retailing, 77 (2), 273–289.
40.
McKemyDavid D.NeuhausserWerner M.JuliusDavid (2002), “Identification of a Cold Receptor Reveals a General Role of TRP Channels in Thermosensation,” Nature, 416 (6876), 52–58.
MishraAnubhavShuklaAnujaRanaNripendra P.DwivediYogesh K. (2021), “From “Touch” to a “Multisensory” Experience: The Impact of Technology Interface and Product Type on Consumer Responses,” Psychology & Marketing, 38 (3), 385–396.
43.
PareigisJörgEcheverriPerEdvardssonBo (2012), “Exploring Internal Mechanisms Forming Customer Servicescape Experiences,” Journal of Service Management, 23 (5), 677–695.
44.
PetitOliviaVelascoCarlosSpenceCharles (2019), “Digital Sensory Marketing: Integrating New Technologies into Multisensory Online Experience,” Journal of Interactive Marketing, 45 (1), 42–61.
PodsakoffPhilip M.MacKenzieScott B.BechrachDaniel G.PodsakoffNathan P. (2005), “The Influence of Management Journals in the 1980s and 1990s,” Strategic Management Journal, 26 (5), 473–488.
47.
RaheelAasimMajidMuhammadAnwarSyed Muhammad (2021), “DEAR-MULSEMEDIA: Dataset for Emotion Analysis and Recognition in Response to Multiple Sensorial Media,” Information Fusion, 65 (January), 27–49.
48.
RandhawaKrithikaWildenRalfHohbergerJan, (2016), “A Bibliometric Review of Open Innovation: Setting a Research Agenda,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33 (6), 750–772.
49.
RoschkHolderCorreia LoureiroSandra M.BreitsohlJan (2017), “Calibrating 30 Years of Experimental Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Atmospheric Effects of Music, Scent, and Color.” Journal of Retailing, 93 (2), 228–240.
50.
RoschkHolderHosseinpourMasoumeh (2020), “Pleasant Ambient Scents: A Meta-Analysis of Customer Responses and Situational Contingencies,” Journal of Marketing, 84 (1), 125–145.
SampleKevin L.HagtvedtHenrikBraselS. Adam (2020), “Components of Visual Perception in Marketing Contexts: A Conceptual Framework and Review,” Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 48 (May), 405–421.
53.
ScottRebecca O.UnclesMark D. (2018), “Bringing Sensory Anthropology to Consumer Research”, European Journal of Marketing, 52 (1/2), 302–327.
54.
SinghJagdipNambisanSatish R.BridgeGary R.Kai-Uwe BrockJürgen (2020), “One-Voice Strategy for Customer Engagement,” Journal of Service Research, 24 (1), 42–65.
55.
SmithAndrew E.HumphreysMichael S. (2006), “Evaluation of Unsupervised Semantic Mapping of Neural Language with Leximancer Concept Mapping,” Behavior Research Methods, 38 (2), 262–279.
56.
SpenceCharles, (2020), “Senses of Place: Architectural Design for the Multisensory Mind,” Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 5 (1), 1–26.
57.
SpenceCharlesPuccinelliNancy M.GrewalDhruvRoggeveenAnne L. (2014), “Store Atmospherics: A Multisensory Perspective,” Psychology & Marketing, 31 (7), 472–488.
58.
SteadSusanOdekerken-SchröderGabyMahrDominik (2021) “Unraveling Customer Experiences in a New Servicescape: An Ethnographic Schema Elicitation Technique (ESET),” Journal of Service Management, 32 (4), 612–641.
59.
TsaiFeng-ShengHsuSheng-YiShihMau-Hsiang (2017), “Adaptive Tracking Control for Robots with an Interneural Computing System,” IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 29 (4), 832–844.
60.
VerhoefPeter C.KannanP.K.InmanJeffery J. (2015), “From Multi-Channel Retailing to Omni-channel Retailing: Introduction to the Special Issue on Multi-Channel Retailing,” Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 174–181.
61.
ViejoClaudia GonzalezFuentesSigfredoHowellKateTorricoDamirDunsheaFrank B. (2018), “Robotics and Computer Vision Techniques Combined with Non-Invasive Consumer Biometrics to Assess Quality Traits from Beer Foamability Using Machine Learning: A Potential for Artificial Intelligence Application,” Food Control, 92 (October), 72–79.
62.
WildenRalfAkakaMelissa A.KarpenIngo O.HohbergerJan (2017), “The Evolution and Prospects of Service-Dominant Logic: An Investigation of Past, Present, and Future Research,” Journal of Service Research, 20 (4), 345–361.
63.
XiongXiaofengWörgötterFlorentinManoonpongPoramente (2016), “Adaptive and Energy Efficient Walking in a Hexapod Robot Under Neuromechanical Control and Sensorimotor Learning,” IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, 46 (11), 2521–2534.
64.
YanagisawaHideyoshiTakatsujiKenji (2017), “Expectation Effect of Perceptual Experience in Sensory Modality Transitions: Modeling with Information Theory,” Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 28 (7), 1635–1644.
65.
YangWenxiCadwallanderKeith R.LiuYupingHuangMingquanSunBaoguo (2019), “Characterization of Typical Potent Odorants in Raw and Cooked Toona Sinensis (A. Juss.) M. Roem. by Instrumental-Sensory Analysis Techniques,” Food Chemistry, 282 (June), 153–163.
66.
ZhuRui J.MehtaRavi (2017), “Sensory Experiences and Consumer Creativity,” Journal of Association of Consumer Research, 2 (4), 472–484.
67.
ZupicIvanČaterTomaž (2015), “Bibliometric Methods in Management and Organization,” Organizational Research Methods, 18 (3), 429-472.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
