Purpose

This study examines the effects of scent arousal on consumers' time perception in retail service environments and further explores how the effect is moderated by consumer-perceived stress.

Design/methodology/approach

A laboratory experiment (Study 1) and a field experiment (Study 2) were conducted to examine the relationship between scent arousal and time perception and the mediating effect between scent arousal and consumers' store evaluations. Another laboratory experiment (Study 3) was conducted to explore how consumers' stress modifies the scent arousal effect.

Findings

Consumers in a low-arousal scent condition perceived a shorter duration of time than those in a high-arousal scent condition. This finding was verified in a field experiment, whereas scent arousal affects consumers' store evaluations through the mediating effects of time perception. However, the impact of scent arousal on time perception was attenuated in high-stress conditions.

Originality/value

Time duration perception is an important indicator in the retail service marketing process. Evidence shows that underestimating time duration in the shopping process represents positive responses. This study extends prior research by examining how scent arousal influences time perception and how consumers' stress moderates scent arousal’s effect.

中文翻译：

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等待时间加快：服务营销中气味唤醒对时间感知的影响

目的

本研究探讨了零售服务环境中气味唤醒对消费者时间感知的影响，并进一步探讨了消费者感知压力如何调节这种影响。

设计/方法论/途径

通过实验室实验（研究1）和现场实验（研究2）来检验气味唤醒与时间感知之间的关系以及气味唤醒与消费者商店评价之间的中介效应。另一项实验室实验（研究 3）旨在探索消费者的压力如何改变气味唤醒效果。

发现

处于低唤醒气味条件下的消费者感知到的持续时间比处于高唤醒气味条件下的消费者更短。这一发现在现场实验中得到了验证，而气味唤醒通过时间感知的中介效应影响消费者对商店的评价。然而，在高压力条件下，气味唤醒对时间感知的影响会减弱。

原创性/价值

持续时间感知是零售服务营销过程中的一个重要指标。有证据表明，低估购物过程的持续时间代表着积极的反应。这项研究通过研究气味唤醒如何影响时间感知以及消费者的压力如何调节气味唤醒的效果，扩展了先前的研究。