Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

An investigation into online atmospherics: The effect of animated images

on emotions, cognition, and purchase intentions
Michel Laroche a, *, Rong Li b, Marie-Odile Richard c, Mi Zhou a
a
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1M8, Canada
b
University of the West of Scotland, Paisley Campus, Paisley, PA1 2BE, Scotland, UK
c
State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, 100 Seymour Road, Utica, NY, 13502, USA

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: While prior research on animation effects focused on Web advertising, this article focuses on online retailing and
Atmospherics identifies animated images as an important online atmospheric cue. Using an extended Stimulus-Organism-
Animated images Response (SOR) model, this article explores animation effects on emotional and cognitive processes. Across
Pleasure
two studies, the findings show that compared with static images, animated images elicit greater pleasure, which
Arousal
Website attitudes
in turn induces more favorable website attitudes, and lead to higher purchase intentions. Further, this serial
Purchase intentions. mediation effect holds across different types of products. These findings, from the perspective of online atmo­
spherics, deepen our understanding of animation effects on consumer approach-avoidance responses.

1. Introduction
Animation, a prominent attention-getting feature used in Web
advertising, uses a series of minimally different static images attached to
one another, creating the illusion of motion (Sundar and Kalyanaraman,
2004). Most previous research focusing on web banner or pop-up ad­
vertisements examined how animated images affect attention (Girelli
and Luck, 1997; Yoo et al., 2004), physiological arousal (Heo and
Sundar, 2000), quick click-through rates (Li and Bukovac, 1999), and
ads attitudes (Kalyanaraman and Oliver, 2001). However, animation
effects have not been sufficiently explored in the context of online
retailing. Further, some companies such as Apple, Huawei, Casper (a
Canadian mattress brand), and Oreo use animated images in their
website designs to make the products more appealing. However,
whether the online atmospheric cue of animated (vs. static) images
successfully leads to more favorable attitudes towards the website and
higher purchase intentions has not been fully investigated. To fill these
important knowledge gaps, this research, grounded in an extended
Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model, explores the effect of
animated images on consumer behavioral responses.
In the context of traditional retailing, atmospheric cues were found
to affect individuals’ emotional states such as pleasure and arousal,
which in turn lead to approach-avoidance response (Anderson, 1986;
Eroglu and Machleit, 1990; Jang and Namkung, 2009). As such, atmo­
spherics were adopted as a marketing tool to increase the retailer’s
attractiveness (Grewal et al., 2003), build brand image (Kotler, 1973),
and increase purchase intentions and loyalty (Baker et al., 2002).
Extending atmospherics to the online retailing context, Eroglu et al.
(2001) conceptualized online atmospherics as “the sum total of all the
cues that are visible and audible to the online shoppers” (p. 179).
Further, Dailey (2004, p. 796) defined web atmospherics as “the
conscious designing of web environments to create positive effects (e.g.,
positive affect, positive cognitions, etc.) in users in order to increase
favorable consumer responses (e.g., site revisiting, browsing, etc.)”.
From this perspective, animated images constitute an important visual
dimension of the online atmospheric cues. However, recent work has not
sufficiently addressed the effect of such a single cue on consumer
behavioral responses, because most studies classified animated images
and other factors such as verbal description, colors, and patterns into the
same category of task-relevant information (Eroglu et al., 2003), or
graphics (Koo and Ju, 2010). As such, which specific atmospheric cue
impacts emotions and cognition remains unclear. To fill this research
gap, this article, with its focus on online retailing, examines whether
animated (vs. static) images lead to more positive attitudes towards the
retailer website through emotional process.
Thus, the objective of this research is to examine the effect of

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Michel.laroche@concordia.ca (M. Laroche), rong.li@uws.ac.uk (R. Li), Richarm3@sunypoly.edu (M.-O. Richard), jessiezhou0601@163.com
(M. Zhou).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102845
Received 18 January 2021; Received in revised form 13 October 2021; Accepted 21 November 2021
Available online 25 November 2021
0969-6989/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Laroche et al.
animated images on consumer approach-avoidance responses by using
an extended Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model. Another aim is
to address the issue regarding the sequence of emotional and cognitive
processes, which has been debated in prior research (Bandura, 1978;
Bitner, 1992; Lazarus, 1991; Pham et al., 2001). More specifically, we
include the cognitive process in the SOR paradigm, proposing that
animated (vs. static) images elicit emotions (i.e., pleasure and arousal),
which in turn influence cognition (i.e., website attitudes), consequently
impacting purchase intentions towards the relevant product.
2. Conceptual background and hypotheses development
2.1. Atmospherics and animated images
The term atmospherics was first proposed by Kotler (1973) to describe
the effort to deliberately design the retail environment to elicit certain
emotional effects in consumers, which in turn increase their patronage
intentions. According to Kotler (1973), atmospherics comprise “visual,
aural, olfactory, and tactile dimensions” (p. 51). Further, Baker (1986)
proposed a typology of atmospherics, consisting of social (e.g., em­
ployees and customers), design (e.g., layout and color), and ambient
elements (e.g., music, scent, and lighting). Applied to the online retail
stores, these atmospherics are defined as all visual and audible cues
(Eroglu et al., 2001), or the intended design of the web environment to
elicit positive affect and cognition in users in order to induce positive
responses such as site browsing or revisiting (Dailey, 2004).
In the online environment, animation is achieved by a succession of
static images slightly different from one another in order to create the
motion effect, which in turn inherently attracts users’ attention in the
visual search (Girelli and Luck, 1997; Lang et al., 2002; Reeves and Nass,
1996). While Weaver (2000) contends that animation and video should
become more popular and slowly replace the advertisements featuring
static images, there are mixed findings regarding animation effects. For
example, Burke et al. (2005) found that animation does not attract
viewers’ attention to online ads when they are instructed to perform
tasks. Similarly, Kuisma et al. (2010) found that animation had no effect
on users’ attention, but animation effects were contingent on ad format.
Stevenson et al. (2000) found that complex (vs. simple) web page
backgrounds such as animation and color lead to less favorable attitudes
towards the ad, website, and brand, thus decreasing purchase intentions.
Relatedly, Drèze and Hussherr (2003) revealed that animated (vs. static)
online banners did not impact advertising effectiveness, such as brand
awareness and recognition.
In contrast, another research stream is aligned with the motion effect
theories, which contend that individuals inherently prefer moving ob­
jects, with great attention to the stimuli and physiological changes such
as heart rate decreases and brain activity changes (Reeves and Nass,
1996; Sundar and Kalyanaraman, 2004). For example, some researchers
found that animated images in web ads, compared with static images,
elicit higher physiological arousal (Heo and Sundar, 2000), orientating
response to the stimuli (Diao and Sunder, 2004; Lang et al., 2002), better
memory of ads (Lang et al., 2002; Li and Bukovac, 1999), more positive
brand attitudes and higher purchase intentions (Li et al., 2002), and
more favorable ad attitudes (Kalyanaraman and Oliver, 2001). In this
research, we argue that animated images constitute not only one of the
most important features in web advertising, such as getting attention
(Sundar and Kalyanaraman, 2004), but also an important visual
dimension of the online atmospherics.
2.2. Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory and online atmospherics
Most prior work on atmospherics is grounded in Mehrabian and
Russell (1974) Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model, which ex­
plains that atmospherics (S) influence individuals’ emotional state (O),
which leads to their approach-avoidance behavior (R). The model has
been empirically supported by a large body of research (Babin et al.,
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845
1994; Baker et al., 1992; Richard, 2005; Sherman et al., 1997). While
some prior work focused on Mehrabian and Russell (1974) three di­
mensions: pleasure – arousal – dominance (PAD), the current work only
focuses on pleasure and arousal because these two dimensions suffi­
ciently capture the extent of the emotional state (Eroglu et al., 2001;
Russell, 1979). We adopt the conceptualization of pleasure and arousal
by Menon and Kahn (2002): pleasure refers to the extent to which an
individual feels good, pleased, happy, or satisfied in a situation; whereas
arousal refers to the extent to which an individual feels stimulated,
aroused, or active. These two dimensions are conceptualized to be in­
dependent, suggesting that a person can feel highly aroused and may or
may not experience pleasure (Menon and Kahn, 2002).
Eroglu et al. (2003) applied the SOR framework to online retail
stores, examining whether the effects of atmospherics on customer
behavioral responses and purchase intentions can hold in the online
retailing context. The findings showed that online atmospheric cues
such as verbal or pictorial descriptions, colors, patterns, fonts, and music
have significant effects on the users’ emotional state such as pleasure,
which in turn influences attitudes, satisfaction, and approach-avoidance
responses (Eroglu et al., 2003). Further, Kim et al. (2007) operational­
ized online atmospherics as an image interactive technology (IIT), such
as zoom-in functions and 3D virtual models, demonstrating that high
(vs. low) IIT levels lead to online shopping enjoyment and involvement,
consequently contributing to users’ prolonged stay on the site and
patronage intentions.
However, these studies have not theoretically explained which at­
mospheric cue has an effect on emotions due to different research pur­
poses and experimental designs (Koo and Ju, 2010). Building on the SOR
paradigm, Koo and Ju (2010) found that online atmospheric cues such as
colors, links, and graphics induce the consumers’ emotional state (i.e.,
pleasure and arousal), thus increasing purchase intentions. Notwith­
standing, this research treated pictures and animation in the same
category of graphics. Relatedly, Loureiro and Roschk (2014) have
examined the effects of graphics design on emotional response and
loyalty in online/offline retail environments. However, they did not
include animation in their work, calling for future research. Recent
research found that an online atmospheric cue such as visual aesthetics
positively affects satisfaction, arousal, and perceived quality of the on­
line service (Nia and Shokouhyar, 2020). Some recent studies extended
atmospherics effects to the context of mobile applications. Lee and Kim
(2019) found that the need for app atmospherics, such as interactivity
and attractiveness leads to consumers’ reuse intentions and entertain­
ment enjoyment. Wu et al. (2021) demonstrated that online atmo­
spherics of travel-related apps such as interactivity and vividness
positively affect customers’ perceptions of media usefulness and
enjoyment, and flow experiences. Further, Hsieh et al. (2021) found that
online atmospheric cues, such as aesthetic design and entertainment,
gamification, and informativeness trigger pleasure – arousal – dominance,
respectively, which in turn lead to app usage intention and brand loy­
alty. Again, these recent studies combine animation, font types, colors,
and shapes into one category of aesthetic design (Hsieh et al., 2021), or
measure online atmospherics with interactivity and vividness (Wu et al.,
2021). Therefore, in this research, with its focus on one online atmo­
spheric cue – animated images, we use an extended SOR framework and
propose that compared with static images, animated images will trigger
online shoppers’ emotional state, such as pleasure and arousal.
2.3. Emotion-cognition approach, website attitudes, and purchase
intentions
While the Mehrabian and Russell (1974) SOR model only focuses on
emotions (i.e., PAD), Bitner (1992) considered cognition and physiology
within the SOR framework, applying the extended SOR model to serv­
icescapes. Further, Thang and Tan (2003) expanded the SOR framework
by including the stimuli related to store attributes, such as merchan­
dising, availability of merchandise, service, reputation, and promotion.
M. Laroche et al.
Thus, the SOR framework has been extended and more researchers have
focused on both cognitive and affective processes triggered by the at­
mospheric cues (Babin et al., 2004; Bellizzi and Hite, 1992; Ward et al.,
1992). More specifically, emotional or affective responses involve con­
sumers’ affective feelings about a certain object (Ward and Russell,
1981). Cognitive evaluations refer to consumers’ perceptions of the
retailer environment (Chebat and Michon, 2003), or their inferences
about price, product/service quality from the important information
conveyed by atmospheric cues (Baker et al., 2002; Kumar and Kim,
2014). A person’s attitude refers to “a function of his salient beliefs at a
given point in time” (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975, p. 222), and thus, we
define website attitudes as a user’s general evaluations or perceptions of
the website after browsing it. Further, website attitudes resemble ad
attitudes because websites and ads function in a similar way, since the
content is planned by the retailer (Bruner and Kumar, 2000; Richard and
Chebat, 2016). As such, we argue that website attitudes, which consti­
tute the cognitive process, can be triggered by the online atmospheric
cue such as animated images. Further, some researchers argue that
emotions follow cognition during the process (Bandura, 1978; Lazarus,
1991), whereas others contend that cognitive response follows
emotional state (Bitner, 1992; Pham et al., 2001; Zajonc and Markus,
1982), and that pleasure-arousal-dominance emotions can improve con­
sumers’ store attitudes (Porat et al., 2007). Considering that animation
inherently captures users’ attention and induces physiological arousal
(Sundar and Kalyanaraman, 2004), we adopt the emotion-cognition
approach in the current work, proposing that website attitudes (cogni­
tion) follow pleasure and arousal (emotions).
Prior research on atmospherics demonstrated the effects of retail
atmospheric cues on customer approach-avoidance responses: the ef­
fects of music on customer perceptions of waiting time via mood and
attention (Chebat et al., 1993; Hui et al., 1997), and evaluations of
time/effort costs (Baker et al., 2002); the impacts of lighting on product
sales (Hegde, 1996) and evaluations of product/service quality (Baker
et al., 1994); the effects of color on perceptions of the store, merchandise
quality, and price (Bellizzi et al., 1983); and the positive effects of scents
on attitude towards the store and products (Spangenberg et al., 1996).
More recent research reveals that pleasure and arousal positively affect
shopping mall patronage and word of mouth (Das and Varshneya,
2017), and that branded app atmospherics induce pleasure and arousal,
positively impacting brand loyalty and continuous usage intention
(Hsieh et al., 2021). Therefore, using the emotion-cognition approach,
we propose that an important online atmospheric cue such as animated
images (vs. static images) on a retail web page will elicit the consumers’
emotional state, such as pleasure and arousal, consequently leading to
more positive cognition such as attitudes towards the retailer website.
Specifically.
H1 Pleasure mediates the relationship between animated (vs. static)
images and website attitudes, such that animated images elicit a
higher level of pleasure, which in turn leads to more favorable
website attitudes.
H2 Arousal mediates the relationship between animated (vs. static)
images and website attitudes, such that animated images elicit a
higher level of arousal, which in turn leads to more favorable
website attitudes.
Purchase intentions refer to the likelihood and willingness to buy a
certain product or service. Prior research found that atmospheric cues,
such as scent can enhance favorable store attitudes and increase pur­
chase intentions (Spangenberg et al., 1996); that positive affect leads to
more spending in the store (Babin and Darden, 1996); that online at­
mospheric cue, such as layout design, leads to more favorable website
attitudes, which positively affect purchase intentions (Wu et al., 2014);
and that website attitudes positively impact intention to visit the island
featured on the website (Loureiro, 2015), and online shopping practices
(Martínez-López et al., 2005). Therefore, using the emotion-cognition
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845
approach, we argue that purchase intentions are the downstream con­
sequences of website attitudes (cognition), which are triggered by
animated images via emotions. Specifically.
H3 Website attitudes mediate the relationship between animated (vs.
static) images and purchase intentions, such that animated im­
ages induce more favorable website attitudes, which in turn lead
to higher purchase intentions.
H4 Pleasure and website attitudes serially mediate the relationship
between animated (vs. static) images and purchase intentions,
such that animated images elicit a higher level of pleasure, which
in turn induce more favorable website attitudes, thus leading to
higher purchase intentions.
H5 Arousal and website attitudes serially mediate the relationship
between animated (vs. static) images and purchase intentions,
such that animated images elicit a higher level of arousal, which
in turn induce more favorable website attitudes, thus leading to
higher purchase intentions.
All these hypotheses are summarized in the research model (Fig. 1).
3. Study 1
The objective of study 1 is to test H1 and H2. Specifically, this study
aims to explore the effect of animated (vs. static) images on website
attitudes through parallel mediators such as pleasure and arousal.
3.1. Method
128 undergraduate students from a major North American university
participated in the study (female = 44.5%, Mage = 21.55) for a credit.
Due to the pandemic, participants were recruited through the university
online platform rather than in a physical laboratory. Participants were
randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: animated or static
images. We developed two web pages that were identical, including the
same images and product descriptions except for the image type
(animated vs. static). First, they read a description: “Companies try to
design good websites displaying their products. Imagine that you are
planning to buy a laptop and you have a good budget. You will view a
product web page and answer some questions”. Then, participants
viewed a fictitious laptop brand (HoLi MateBook) web page with three
images of a laptop. In the condition of the animated-image web page, the
animation of product images was presented to participants in graphic
interchange format (GIF), which was achieved by a rapid succession of
several slightly different images. In an animated GIF, product animation
is displayed continually and repeatedly while users browse the web page
featuring the GIF (Jia et al., 2020). However, in the condition of the
static-image web page, three product images were static when partici­
pants were browsing the web page.
After viewing the laptop web page, participants answered questions
related to their pleasure and arousal levels. We adopted the 9-point bi­
polar scale from Mehrabian and Russell (1974) to measure pleasure (i.e.,
after browsing this website, I felt: annoyed/pleased; unsat­
isfied/satisfied; despairing/hopeful; α = 0.90), and arousal (i.e., after
browsing this website, I felt unaroused/aroused; sleepy/wide-awake; α
= 0.69). Afterwards, we adopted the 3-item 7-point bipolar scale from
Richard and Habibi (2016) to measure participants’ attitudes towards
the website (i.e., I dislike/like this website; I react unfavorable/favor­
ably towards this website; I have negative/positive feelings towards this
website; α = 0.94). At the end of the questionnaire, participants pro­
vided demographic information, and were provided with a debriefing
stating that the web page with the product images they viewed was
fictitious. All the scales and reliability values are summarized in Ap­
pendix A.
M. Laroche et al.
Fig. 1. Research model.
3.2. Results
We conducted a parallel mediation analysis in PROCESS (5000
bootstrapped samples; Model 4; Hayes, 2013) with image type (0 =
static images, 1 = animated images) as the independent variable, plea­
sure and arousal as parallel mediators, and website attitudes as the
dependent variable. The results show that animated (vs. static) images
triggered a higher level of pleasure (B = 0.70; SE = 0.26; 95% CI =
[0.17, 1.22]) and that pleasure positively affected website attitudes (B
= 0.43; SE = 0.07; 95% CI = [0.30, 0.56]). As predicted, we found a
significant indirect effect for the mediation path through pleasure (B =
0.30; SE = 0.12; 95% CI = [0.08, 0.54]), supporting H1. Further, the
direct effect of image type on website attitudes was significant (B = 0.42;
SE = 0.12; 95% CI = [0.17, 0.66]), indicating partial mediation through
pleasure. However, we did not find a significant indirect effect for the
mediation path through arousal because the confidence interval
included zero (95% CI = [-0.07, 0.06]), not supporting H2. Specifically,
we did not observe that animated (vs. static) images elicited a higher
level of arousal, and arousal led to more favorable website attitudes,
because all confidence intervals included zero. Fig. 2 summarizes all
estimated path coefficients. The mediation analysis results indicate that
compared with static images, animated images induced a higher level of
pleasure, which in turn led to more favorable website attitudes.
3.3. Discussion
The results of Study 1 demonstrate that compared with static images,
animated images of a product on a web page lead to a higher level of
pleasure, which in turn contributes to more favorable website attitudes.
However, we did not observe a statistically significant effect of animated
Fig. 2. Parallel mediation results in Study 1
Notes. Regression weights (B) are unstandardized; Standard errors (SE) in pa­
rentheses. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. The total indirect effect was sig­
nificant (B = 0.29; SE = 0.11; 95% C.I. [0.08, 0.52]). The indirect effect
through pleasure (the effect hypothesized in H1) was significant (B = 0.30; SE
= 0.12; 95% CI = [0.08, 0.54]). The indirect effect through arousal was not
significant (− 0.006; 95% C.I. = [-0.07, 0.06]).
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845
images on website attitudes through arousal, not supporting H2. This
was not uncommon in previous research. For example, Eroglu et al.
(2003) found that the effect of online atmospherics on satisfaction and
approach response was mediated by pleasure, but not by arousal.
Similarly, Koo and Ju (2010) did not observe a positive effect of online
menu on arousal. De Nisco and Warnaby’s study (2014) showed that the
atmospheric cue of aesthetic design did not induce a higher level of
arousal in the context of an urban shopping area.
To replicate the findings of the mediation effect observed in Study 1,
and to further explore the underlying mechanisms and downstream
consequences of website attitudes in response to animated images, we
conducted Study 2 to offer more insights into animation effects.
4. Study 2
The objective of study 2 is to test H3 through H5 using a different
stimulus set (a smartphone) and a different subject pool. Specifically, we
examine whether website attitudes mediate purchase intentions in
response to animated (vs. static) images, and whether emotional state
and cognition serially mediate the relationship between the animated
(vs. static) image and purchase intentions.
4.1. Method
We recruited 184 participants from Amazon MTurk, who were
randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: animated or static
images. We developed two web pages of a smartphone that were iden­
tical, including the same images and product descriptions, except for the
image type. We removed incomplete responses, leaving 150 valid
questionnaires (female = 44.7%). The majority of the participants were
between 26 and 41 years old (55.4%). The procedure was similar to that
of Study 1. First, participants read a scenario describing that they had a
good budget and were planning to buy a smartphone. In the condition of
the animated-image web page, participants were shown product ani­
mation in the GIF format. After viewing a fictitious smartphone brand
(HoLi MateS) web page with the product images, participants answered
questions regarding pleasure, arousal, and website attitudes. The scales
were the same as the ones used in Study 1: a 3-item scale of pleasure (α
= 0.91), a 2-item scale of arousal (α = 0.68), and a 3-item scale of
website attitude (α = 0.96). Afterwards, we adapted the 4-item 7-point
Likert scale from Dodds et al. (1991) to measure purchase intentions (i.
e., The likelihood of purchasing this product is high; The probability that
I would consider buying the product is high; My willingness to buy the
product is high; I intend to buy this product; α = 0.96). At the end of the
questionnaire, participants provided demographic information and they
were provided with a debriefing stating that the web page with the
mobile phone images was fictitious.
M. Laroche et al.
4.2. Results
First, we conducted a mediation analysis (5000 bootstrapped sam­
ples; Model 4; Hayes, 2013) with image type as the independent vari­
able, website attitudes as the mediator, and purchase intentions as the
dependent variable. The results show that there was a significant indi­
rect effect (B = 0.46; SE = 0.23; 95% CI = [0.03, 0.94]) for the medi­
ation path through website attitudes, supporting H3. Further, the direct
effect of image type on purchase intentions was not significant (95% CI
= [-0.71, 0.03]), indicating full mediation through website attitudes.
Using Model 4 (Hayes, 2013), we also replicated the parallel mediation
analysis reported in Study 1 to assess the hypothesized process. Again,
pleasure mediated the effect of animated (vs. static) images on website
attitudes (B = 0.26; SE = 0.12; 95% CI = [0.03, 0.51], but no mediation
effect through arousal was observed (95% CI = [-0.02, 0.11]).
Then, we conducted a multiple-step mediation analysis using Model
80 in PROCESS (5000 bootstrapped samples: Hayes, 2013). As pre­
dicted, we found a significant indirect effect (B = 0.25; SE = 0.12; 95%
CI = [0.02, 0.50]) for the mediation path through pleasure and website
attitudes, supporting H4. However, we did not observe a significant
indirect effect for the mediation path through arousal and website at­
titudes (95% CI = [-0.02, 0.11]), not supporting H5. Further, the direct
effect of image type on purchase intentions was insignificant (95% CI =
[-0.70, 0.02]), indicating full mediation through pleasure and website
attitudes (Fig. 3). Then, we focused on the mediation path through
pleasure and website attitudes to better understand the complex
multiple-step mediation model. As a further check, we used Model 6
(Hayes, 2013) to run a mediation analysis with the mediators in reverse
order (i.e., website attitudes first and pleasure second). The indirect
effect on purchase intentions was not significant (95% CI = [-0.02,
0.20]). Taken altogether, the mediation analysis results indicate that
animated images elicited a higher level of pleasure, which in turn led to
more favorable website attitudes, consequently contributing to higher
purchase intentions.
Since the objective of Study 2 was to enhance the generalizability of
our findings obtained in Study 1, and to further explore the downstream
outcome of website attitudes in response to animated images, we com­
bined the two datasets (N = 278) from Study 1 and Study 2 to rule out a
potential interaction effect between image type and product type. We
conducted a moderated mediation analysis (5000 bootstrapped samples;
Model 7; Hayes, 2013) with image type as the independent variable,
product type (laptop vs. smartphone) as the moderator, pleasure and
arousal as the parallel mediators, and website attitudes as the dependent
variable. As expected, no moderated mediation effect was observed
through pleasure (95% CI = [-0.34, 0.29]) and through arousal (95% CI
= [-0.08, 0.06]). Therefore, the results of Study 2 enhanced the
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845
generalizability of our previous findings, suggesting that the mediation
effect of animated images on website attitudes through pleasure holds
across two different types of products.
4.3. Discussion
The results of Study 2 reveal that website attitudes mediate the effect
of animated images on purchase intentions. More importantly, we
demonstrated that pleasure and website attitudes serially mediate the
relationship between animated (vs. static) images and purchase in­
tentions. Specifically, compared with static images, animated images on
a web page induce a higher level of pleasure, which in turn leads to more
favorable attitudes towards the website, consequently increasing pur­
chase intentions. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 that pleasure
mediates website attitudes in response to animated images, and more
importantly, identified the serial mediation effect through pleasure and
website attitudes. However, we did not find a serial mediation effect of
animated images on purchase intentions through arousal and website
attitudes. This might be explained by Menon and Kahn (2002) argument
that a person may not equally experience arousal and pleasure at the
same time. Notwithstanding, most of the hypotheses are supported, with
the results summarized in Table 1. Further, we conducted a moderated
Table 1
Summary of hypotheses testing.
Hypothesis Result
H1: Pleasure mediates the relationship between animated (vs. static) Supported
images and website attitude, such that animated images elicit a
higher level of pleasure, which in turn leads to more favorable
website attitudes.
H2: Arousal mediates the relationship between animated (vs. static) Rejected
images and website attitude, such that animated images elicit a
higher level of arousal, which in turn leads to more favorable website
attitudes.
H3: Website attitudes mediate the relationship between animated (vs. Supported
static) images and purchase intentions, such that animated images
will induce more favorable website attitudes, which in turn lead to
higher purchase intentions.
H4: Pleasure and website attitudes serially mediate the relationship Supported
between animated (vs. static) images and purchase intentions, such
that animated images elicit a higher level of pleasure, which in turn
induce more favorable website attitudes, thus leading to higher
purchase intentions.
H5: Arousal and website attitudes serially mediate the relationship Rejected
between animated (vs. static) images and purchase intentions, such
that animated images elicit a higher level of arousal, which in turn
induce more favorable website attitudes, thus leading to higher
purchase intentions.
Fig. 3. Parallel and serial mediation results in
Study 2
Notes. Regression weights (B) are unstandardized.
Standard errors (SE) in parentheses; C’ = Direct
effect of animated (vs. static) images on purchase
intentions, C = Total effect of animated (vs. static)
images on purchase intentions. *p < .05, **p < .01,
***p < .001. The total indirect effect was significant
(B = 0.47; SE = 0.23; 95% C.I. [0.02, 0.93]). The
indirect effect through pleasure and website atti­
tudes (the effect hypothesized in H4) was signifi­
cant (B = 0.25; SE = 0.12; 95% CI = [0.02, 0.50]).
The indirect effect through arousal and website at­
titudes was not significant (B = 0.04; 95% CI =
[-0.02, 0.11]).
M. Laroche et al.
mediation analysis to rule out a potential interactive effect of image type
and product type on website attitudes through two parallel mediators.
The results enhance the generalizability of our findings and demonstrate
that the mediation effect of animated images through pleasure holds
across two types of products. Taken altogether, grounded in an extended
SOR framework, our findings confirm that the effects of atmospheric
cues such as animated images on customer behavioral response can hold
in the context of online retailing.
5. General discussion and implications
5.1. Summary of findings
Across two studies involving different subject pools and stimuli of
different product categories, we provided evidence in support of our
hypothesized serial mediation effect. Specifically, we demonstrated that
the online atmospheric cue of animated (vs. static) images leads to more
positive website attitudes. Such an effect is driven by a higher level of
pleasure, consistent with previous findings in the traditional retailing
context that atmospheric cues elicit the consumer’s emotional state such
as pleasure, which in turn affects the cognitive process, consequently
leading to approach-avoidance responses such as higher purchase in­
tentions (emotion-cognition approach, Bitner, 1992; Pham et al., 2001;
Zajonc and Markus, 1982). More importantly, the current research only
focuses on animation as a single atmospheric cue, which is separate from
other cues such as colors, patterns, and graphics, providing a more
nuanced understanding that animated images can effectively impact
consumers’ approach-avoidance behavioral responses.
5.2. Theoretical contributions
This article makes several contributions to different streams of
literature. First, it contributes to the atmospherics literature by
exploring whether atmospherics effects in the traditional retailing
context can hold in the online retailing one. More importantly, our work
tests the parallel and serial mediation effects of emotions (i.e., pleasure
and arousal) on cognition (i.e., website attitudes), and consequently on
purchase intentions. Specifically, the findings suggest that a single on­
line atmospheric cue such as animated images can affect users’
emotional state such as pleasure, which in turn induces more favorable
website attitudes, leading to higher purchase intentions. While the
previous work investigated the effect of online atmospheric cues such as
colors, verbal or pictorial descriptions, graphic design, and store layout
design (Eroglu et al., 2003; Koo and Ju, 2010; Loureiro and Roschk,
2014; Wu et al., 2014), it grouped multiple cues into one factor affecting
customer behavioral responses. In other words, it is unclear which
specific online atmospheric cue plays a role in online shoppers’
emotional and cognitive processes. Animation, which has been used as
an important attention-getting marketing tool in web advertising (Sun­
dar and Kalyanaraman, 2004), constitutes a critical facet of online at­
mospherics, and should receive more attention from marketing
researchers. Therefore, the current research fills this research gap by
offering more nuanced insights into the effect of this single visual cue on
emotions and cognition.
Second, our findings enriched the SOR model by including cognitive
evaluations (i.e., website attitudes) as a consequence of an emotional
state. Further, previous findings did not converge on the sequence of
emotional state and cognitive process: cognition-emotion approach
(Bandura, 1978; Lazarus, 1991) and emotion-cognition approach (Bit­
ner, 1992; Pham et al., 2001; Zajonc and Markus, 1982). Thus, Chebat
and Michon (2003) compared these two competing models, showing
that the cognition-emotion model better explains the impact of ambient
scent on shoppers’ spending in a shopping mall. However, our findings
suggest that in the online retailing context, the emotion-cognition
mechanism underlies the effect of animated images on purchase in­
tentions, whereas the serial mediation effect for cognition-emotion
6
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845
sequence is not statistically significant. Thus, our work sheds new
light on this debate.
Third, by combining the datasets from the two studies using different
products as stimuli and different subject pools, we demonstrated that the
mediation effect of animated images on website attitudes through
pleasure and arousal was not moderated by the product type (i.e., laptop
vs. smart phone). Therefore, these results enhanced the generalizability
of our findings, confirming the mediating role of pleasure in the rela­
tionship between animated images and website attitudes, regardless of
the product type.
Finally, prior research on animation mostly focused on web adver­
tising such as animated banner ads and online commercials, demon­
strating the effects of animation on attention (Burke et al., 2005; Kuisma
et al., 2010), ad attitude (Kalyanaraman and Oliver, 2001; Stevenson
et al., 2000), and advertising effectiveness (Drèze and Hussherr, 2003).
Conducted in the online retailing context, our study takes a different
track and expands the literature by adopting an extended SOR model to
uncover an important mechanism, whereby animation triggers an
emotional state, which in turn enhances cognitive evaluations, conse­
quently leading to higher purchase intentions. These findings deepen
our understanding of animation effects in the context of online retailing,
suggesting that animation can be utilized as an important atmospheric
cue in a retailer’s website design. Although we did not observe the an­
imation effect on website attitudes and purchase intentions via arousal,
we offered an explanation for it.
5.3. Managerial implications
Online companies or online retailers create websites to give online
shoppers a first impression of their products, services, and the com­
panies themselves. Lindgaard et al. (2006) empirical study revealed that
individuals make their decisions on the preferred homepages within 50
ms (ms), indicating that the company only has 50 ms to create a first
impression to convince consumers to stay or to leave. Further, animated
banner ads increase click-through rates and recall of ads (Li and Buko­
vac, 1999). Therefore, our work has important implications for those
retailers who want to increase click-through rates in search engine
optimization (SEO), and elicit consumer’s emotions and cognition, thus
keeping them on the website and increasing their spending likelihood.
Particularly during the pandemic, which has accelerated the shift to­
wards online shopping globally (UNCTAD, 2020), website design stra­
tegies have become more important than before in the digital world. As
our findings suggest, online shoppers who view animated (vs. static)
images will experience greater pleasure, which in turn leads to more
favorable attitudes towards the company’s website, consequently
increasing their purchase intentions. Thus, a carefully designed web
page with animated images of products can make a good impression and
trigger online shoppers’ positive emotions and cognitive perceptions,
consequently increasing purchase likelihood.
Moreover, some companies’ websites feature videos, which cause
slow page load speeds, thus leading to poor user experiences. Animated
images, if optimized, can be much faster than videos to download, and
thus improve user experiences. Therefore, we suggest that online com­
panies or online retailers consider animated images in their SEO strategy
to increase click-through rates. However, marketers and website de­
signers should carefully consider the appropriate number of animated
images used in the Web design, because prior research has found that
complex web pages featuring animation, items, and colors lead to less
favorable attitude towards the site and brand (Stevenson et al., 2000).
Thus, it is important to achieve the balance among the number, load
speeds of animated images, and other content such as audio, fonts,
colors, and verbal descriptions.
6. Limitations and future research
This research has limitations, calling for further studies. First, we did
M. Laroche et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 64 (2022) 102845

not find the indirect effect for the mediation path through arousal, and
thus future research may consider wear-out effects in the online retailing
context. Second, we only used a laptop and a smartphone as stimuli in
the studies. Thus, future research may validate our findings using other
product categories, such as other utilitarian and hedonic products.
Third, we did not explore potential moderators, posing another limita­
tion. While prior research examined some variables moderating the ef­
fect of online atmospheric cues on customer emotional state and
approach-avoidance responses, such as involvement and atmospheric
responsiveness (Eroglu et al., 2003), and perceptual curiosity (Koo and
Ju, 2010), we propose that trust, self-brand connection (SBC; Escalas
and Bettman, 2003), or some personality traits may moderate animation
effects. For example, trust in online shopping or the brand might
strengthen the relationship between emotional state and website atti­
tudes, thus increasing purchase intentions. If consumers have already
established strong connections with the relevant brand, they may
experience higher pleasure, which in turn will enhance favorable web­
site attitudes, contributing to higher purchase intentions. Personality
traits may also influence individuals’ emotions, feelings, website per­
ceptions, and behavioral response (Loureiro, 2015), thus offering a
venue for future research.
Finally, the current research, along with the prior work, focuses on
consumer attitudes and purchase intentions, indicating another prom­
ising venue for future research to explore other consequences resulting
from animated images. For example, it is worthwhile to examine
whether animated images on a product web page will have a similar
impact on new product adoption, or whether animated images featured
in a brand posting will increase consumer engagement in the social
media settings. We believe that extending our findings to different
contexts, other product categories, or other relevant consumer behav­
iors, and exploring the aforementioned moderators will offer valuable
insights into the effects of online atmospheric cues.

Appendix A

Summary of scales and reliabilities used in the two studies.

Scales Study 1 Study 2

Pleasure (Mehrabian and Russell’s, 1974) .90 .91

After browsing this website, I felt annoyed/pleased.
After browsing this website, I felt unsatisfied/satisfied.
After browsing this website, I felt despairing/hopeful.
Arousal (Mehrabian and Russell’s, 1974) .69 .68
After browsing this website, I felt unaroused/aroused.
After browsing this website, I felt sleepy/wide-awake.
Website attitudes (Richard and Habibi, 2016) .94 .96
I dislike/like this website.
I react unfavorable/favorably towards this website
I have negative/positive feelings towards this website
Purchase intentions (Dodds et al., 1991) .96
The likelihood of purchasing this product is high.
The probability that I would consider buying the product is high.
My willingness to buy the product is high.
I intend to buy this product.

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