Title: Do consumers' sensory cues' preferences in retail differ between neighbouring countries?

Authors: Adnane Alaoui; Véronique Flambard

Addresses: Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, England, UK ' ICL, Junia, Université Catholique de Lille, LITL, F-59000 Lille, France

Abstract: Sensory marketing enables retailers to elevate consumers' shopping experience. Key to their success is whether or not they should adapt their retail strategy to the country where they operate. This research contributes to better inform international retail by investigating cross-country differences in consumers' sensorial preferences. It extends the actual conceptual framework of experiential marketing by adding an international dimension to it. It also offers the first empirical evidence that preferences for sensory cues do differ in two neighbouring European countries, when controlling for socio-economic variables, based on econometric analyses. The analysis also uncovers why shoppers like or dislike a specific sensory cue. The results suggest that French retailers cannot duplicate, in England, the sensory tactics used in France and vice-versa. This is the first study that contrasts consumers' preference for in-store sensory cues across countries to better inform the merchandising strategies of international retailers.

Keywords: sensory marketing; sensorial cues; atmospherics; experiential marketing; international retail; shopping experience; multivariate probit.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2026.153176

European Journal of International Management, 2026 Vol.29 No.1, pp.48 - 70

Received: 05 May 2021
Accepted: 08 Feb 2022
Published online: 29 Apr 2026 *

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