Modeling the Relationship Between Sensory Marketing Dimensions and Nostalgic Emotions in Improving Retail Customer Experience
Keywords:
Sensory marketing, Consumer nostalgia, Retail industry, Shopping experience, Customer loyaltyAbstract
In the competitive environment of Iran’s retail industry, the adoption of innovative strategies to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty has gained increasing importance. The present study aimed to design a sensory marketing model based on consumers’ nostalgic tendencies within the retail sector and employed a mixed-methods (qualitative–quantitative) approach with a developmental–applied orientation. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the perspectives of managers and academic and executive experts active in the field of sensory marketing. Purposeful sampling led to the selection of 13 experts, and theoretical saturation was achieved after conducting 15 interviews. The collected data were coded using thematic analysis with the assistance of MAXQDA software, and the credibility of findings was examined and confirmed during the final interviews. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population consisted of all customers of retail stores located in the three metropolitan cities of Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan. Based on Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 384 participants was determined. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods using SPSS version 16 and Partial Least Squares (PLS) software. Qualitative findings indicated that the nostalgic sensory marketing model comprises five principal dimensions: development of enduring shopping experiences, utilization of nostalgic elements, reconstruction of brands and products based on nostalgic consumer behaviors, creation of deep connections between brands and customers’ memories, and development of creative nostalgic approaches. Quantitative results showed that the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) for all constructs exceeded 0.50 and composite reliability values were above 0.70, confirming convergent validity. Furthermore, structural equation modeling demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between sensory marketing elements and nostalgic tendencies in consumer behavior (t-value = 302.156, greater than 1.96). The final model suggests that stimulating positive past emotions and memories through sensory marketing leads to the creation of a desirable and memorable customer experience, ultimately increasing sales performance and brand loyalty. This model can serve as a strategic framework for the development and implementation of nostalgic sensory marketing within Iran’s retail industry.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Vahid Sadeghitabar (Author); Mohammadreza Rostami; Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Mehdi Saei (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
