2.1. Marketing of the senses and neuromarketing

Marketing of the senses, also called sensorial marketing, is the strategy related to promoting a product, a service, or a brand. The previous intends to impact the senses of consumers and influence their behavior, retention, and positioning related to a brand or product (^{Krishna, 2009}). To develop a strategy that modifies or affects the consumers’ desires, it is necessary to study sensation and perception to achieve this purpose. In a point of sale, a commercial establishment, or a retail store, sensorial marketing is expressly aimed at the stimulation of the five senses to generate a pleasant environment so that an individual customer or potential buyer increases their desire to purchase the offered brand (^{Jiménez-Marín, Bellido Pérez, and López Cortés, 2019}). The construct ‘marketing of the senses’ is comprised within neuromarketing, defined by ^{Gutiérrez (2019)} as:

The application of neuroscience techniques in the field of marketing, which analyzes the levels of emotion, attention, and memory evoked by stimuli in the context of marketing, advertising, and sales, such as advertisements, products, services, or experiences, needs an understanding of the subconscious in order to have more accurate data about the reaction of customers and improve the management of resources for marketing and sales of companies (p. 1177).

More simply, ^{Manzano, Gavilan, Avello, Abril, and Serra (2012)} explain that neuromarketing can be understood as the science in charge of studying how an individual, in the role of consumer, perceives, processes, memorizes, learns, feels, and reasons the stimuli received from a particular brand to make decisions before buying, while buying and after buying. Thus, it “tries to explain the factors that influence and affect the thoughts, feelings, motivations, needs, and desires, to ultimately understand what defines “the buying behavior” of a person (^{Manzano et al., 2012}).

Recently, the marketing of the senses has taken great relevance in multiple sectors of commerce since it is an effective and efficient way to connect a brand, a product, or a service with the way of life of customers (or potential customers), resorting to the emotions generated by the environment, the stimulation of the senses and reason. The main objective of sensorial marketing is “to achieve an emotional commitment with the consumer so that they remember the brand and to remain in their memory it is necessary to touch the fiber of their feelings; that is why it is necessary to create a story with which they can relate and commit” (^{de Garcillán, 2015}, p. 467).

The cerebral system is considered an open conglomerate with changes, formations, and recurrent neuronal development, from these lived experiences and learning. This system at the physiological level divides the conscious mind from the unconscious and separates reason from emotion. Although both participate in large part of the situations, the predominance of the moving part over the rational becomes more specific. ^{Harmon-Jones, Gable, and Peterson (2009)} explain the emotional brain the degree of relationship of the cerebral hemispheres with emotions according to the level of activity during an experience.

Thus, when the activity of the left hemisphere predominates, the individual perceives emotions of approach; on the contrary, when the right hemisphere dominates in its activity, and emotional impulse of rejection or distancing is presented. More clearly, the approaching refers to the positive emotions of delight, joy, satisfaction, and pleasure. At the same time, the distancing is the negative one related to emotions of fright, fear, uncertainty, aversion, and doubt.

In this order of ideas, the predilection for a brand or the choice of a specific product or service is not based on the cost-benefit ratio, which is generally one of the main parameters that consumers point out as a motivating factor when making purchase decisions, but on the experience generated from the product or service offered, or on the perception produced by the environment where the product or service is available. ^{Jiménez-Marín et al. (2019)} indicates:

“There are behaviors that are managed by culture in the subconscious, others, however, are cultural. For the company to be successful through the use the marketing of the senses the strategy must be integrated” (p. 124); this means that it is necessary to opt for methodologies that are common and familiar to the public with innovative aspects and with positive influence from the perceived stimuli leading to the practical purchase.

Emotional consumption is based on intangible values, which influence consumers more than tangible characteristics by producing emotions and feelings. The knowledge of the characteristics of the product or service that awaken the emotional part in the consumer guarantees the sale and success of the same; therefore, marketing in this facet must offer attributes beyond the palpable, elaborating emotional concepts that awaken in people the need to get it and primarily, to remember it over time (^{Ferrer-Coyo, 2009}). ^{Jiménez-Marín et al. (2019)} explain that:

The product is not enough to be seen or talked about; it needs to be experienced and associated with a particular lifestyle. Sensorial integration is of utmost importance because, otherwise, the effects on consumers may be counterproductive, resulting in confusion and, far from improving perception, would bring negative results: this would be antimarketing (p. 124).

2.2. Visual perception

The eye is a mobile organ located at the front of the skull. Its parts are identified in Figure 1. The mobility of the eye is given by a system of muscles that allow it to locate and focus properly on an object (^{Pires, Vásquez, Carboni and Maiche, 2014} It is almost generally believed that vision occurs in the eyes; however, the right and left eyeball and all its components are only the receptor instruments for visual stimuli from the environment. Visual perception occurs in the brain after interpreting the light and information captured by the eyes. Everything in a person’s environment emits or reflects light at different frequencies and intensities that penetrate the eyeball through the pupil. The pupil dilates or contracts to depend on the light conditions through the mediation of the iris. Subsequently, the light signal passes through the cornea, the crystalline lens, and the aqueous inner chamber until it reaches the retina, the photosensitive part of the eye (^{Nava-Báez and Wright-Carr, 2016}; ^{Torrades and Pérez-Susta, 2018}).

Source: Image taken for academic purposes from ^{Pires et al. (2014)}

Figure 1 Structure of the human eye 

The retina contains cells that capture and process light called cones and rods. The first ones are in charge of perceiving the qualities of color determined by the wavelength of light, while the second ones capture luminosity in grayscale. In the vicinity of the fovea, there is a more significant presence of cones. In the retina’s periphery, more rods, so when observing something directly, the more irradiated light falls directly on the fovea (area of greater sensitivity in the central part of the retina), the more details are perceived in the images interpreted by the brain. On the contrary, if the retina’s periphery captures the irradiated light, the level of detail to interpret decreases (^{Pires et al., 2014}; ^{Nava-Báez and Wright-Carr, 2016}).

^{Nava-Báez and Wright-Carr (2016)} indicate that light reaches the eyes in the form of particles called photons. The cones and rods located in the retina receive it and transform it into electrical signals sent to the brain through the second cranial pair. Once the signal reaches the brain, it is interpreted and organized for understanding. At least 30 visual areas in the occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex are known. Each area selects various types of information from the visual input signal, from the most basic features such as spatial frequency, orientation, and contrast, to more complex aspects such as motion, color, or shape of objects.

There is a hierarchical organization among the visual areas. All areas are highly interconnected, but each specializes in one part of the functional analysis of information. Visual cognition results from recurrent interactions between the different visual areas (^{Torrades and Pérez-Susta, 2018}, p. 101).

It should be taken into account that an individual does not look at a frame statically; the eyes move to look for the most striking and attractive data of a scene to build a mental map of what is observed. The human eye makes rapid eye movements and captures small parts of the same scene to optimize resources. The brain interprets the data that ascends through the optic nerve constructing the totality of the scene through the small parts visualized by the eyes. An individual’s interpretation of the stimuli generated in the eyes is limited by the assumptions previously made about the environment (^{Pires et al., 2014}; ^{Torrades and Pérez-Susta, 2018}).

In the process of visual perception, the brain constructs in a certain way what a person sees and the assumptions made about the environment conditioning the final perception. ^{Torrades and Pérez-Susta (2018)} indicate that if part of visual perception depends on the personal assumptions of a subject, it is clear that what is “seen” does not necessarily have to be what that subject perceives: “the eyes are only responsible for a part of visual perception, the brain does the rest.” In short, visual perception is an act of interpretative reconstruction. That is where neuromarketing finds its genesis: in the intentional organization of visual stimuli that are interpreted as pleasant in the brain, generating greater interest in a product, service, or brand.

2.3. Visual Neuromarketing

The sense of sight has a more significant impact on the mind generating multiple memories and combining several rational and emotional factors for the induction in the buying process; therefore, it is the sense of greater application and stimulation by marketing, used in packaging, advertisements, designs in establishments and on the Internet (^{Costa, 2010}). Visual neuromarketing is explained by ^{Álvarez and Simancas (2018)} as “ the knowledge based on the circuit of vision and its elements of light, color, image, and emotion, applicable to the generation of product design and communications that impact the consumer, based on the study of the capabilities of human visual perception.” The basis of visual marketing lies in the mental interpretations made by people from perceived stimuli because the optic nerve is twenty-five times faster than the auditory nerve in its connection to the brain (the organ that organizes, interprets, and analyzes the light captured by the eyes). Therefore, the right visual stimuli provide a helpful link to the real decision-maker and have a decisive influence on the consumer’s feelings and desires (^{Avendaño, 2013}).

The way objects and spaces are distributed in the environments where products and services are offered a mental impact on consumers and are, therefore, a subject of visual neuromarketing. Large images, appropriate colors, lights, product order, and visualization of offers are factors that affect the visual message footprint. ^{Vera (2010)} indicates that, visually, the figure-background relationship should be considered: predisposition to observe dark figures with illuminated backgrounds; use of lights with warm tones which allow bringing the consumer closer; dark figures on dark backgrounds make objects stand out; elements differentiated from the background attract the eye; shapes should be large and warm concerning the figures in the background; and chromatic sequences give a method of observation to the subject, making the image more dynamic (^{Avendaño, 2013}).

The visual perception of human beings generates experiences connected and related to the emotional dimension. The visual perception of the person, also interpretative and comprehensive in a social and cultural framework that is inscribed, activates and enhances different negative and positive emotions, leading to new interpretations and understandings that affect their actions and behavior. In this sense, the purpose of visual neuromarketing is to create bonds between the sensorial experience and the emotions of individuals to produce conscious and unconscious gratifying memories. From the emotional perspective, the limbic system and the cerebral amygdalae are responsible for transmitting sensations and generating emotions in individuals (^{Malfitano, Arteaga, Romano, and Scinica, 2007}). Today it is known that warm colors, such as red, orange, and yellow, produce emotional states of joy, vitality, activity, anxiety, and distraction, and that cold colors, such as blue or green, lead to tranquility, rest, happiness, love among others (^{Gómez and García, 2012}).

4.1. External and internal visual context of the commercial establishments

As shown in Table 2, information was collected through direct observation of 220 commercial establishments in the two shopping malls, 116 in the Unicentro mall and 104 in the Jardín Plaza mall. For both locations, the number of businesses with the majority in terms of presence are food stores (31.03% Unicentro; 32.69% Jardín Plaza) and clothing, footwear, and textile sales and consulting stores (47.41% Unicentro; 34.61%; Jardín Plaza). These two commercial sites represent more than 65% of the total number of commercial establishments observed. Those with the smallest presence in operation are book stores, representing 0.86% of the businesses in Unicentro and 1.92% in Jardín Plaza.

The direct observation made to the commercial establishments of both shopping malls in question allowed collecting data on each site’s internal and external dimensions. Regarding the external dimension, we considered the number of images, the type of exterior, the predominant colors, the predominance of light, the display of products, the exaltation/size of the brand, and colors in the establishment’s logo, and the display of offers. Internally, data was collected on the number of images, predominant colors, the predominance of light, variety of products, and display of offers. The information was organized for analysis according to the type of establishment as indicated in the methodology. Tables 3 and 4 show the findings.

Direct observation at the external level of the establishments in operation in the Jardín Plaza and Unicentro shopping malls in the city of Cúcuta showed that, concerning the visual aspect, the food, games and entertainment and technology stores use a significant amount of images in the external space compared to stores offering jewelry and watches, books, or clothing, footwear and textiles. Regarding the type of exterior, the ludic/formal aspects predominate for most of the establishments, except for the jewelry and watch shops, which, although they keep the ludic style, have more elegant exteriors in comparison to the other sites, and the games and amusement stores, since their exteriors are more fun, informal and not very conservative.

However, concerning the colors that predominate on the exterior of the premises, the results are more varied; in food establishments, the colors yellow predominated in the first place and red in second place, in jewelry and watch stores the colors black and white, in gaming and amusement places red and blue, in bookstores green, in technology establishments blue and black, and finally, in businesses selling textiles, clothing, and footwear, black and yellow. As for the predominance of light, the preference was for warm lights for the different types of establishments, except for bookstores that use cold lights for their exterior lighting.

In all establishments, products are displayed, except for food stores, which do not have food displayed to the public unless it is “buffet style.” On their exterior, all have a significant exaltation of the name of the establishment, the logo of the brand, and its characteristic colors; perhaps in the bookstores, the visual impact of these aspects is more discreet. Finally, concerning the external visuals, the display of offers was quite discreet for most establishments, except for book and technology stores, which had a strong display of offers on their exteriors.

Internal visuals correspond to the stimuli that a consumer can perceive through a vision when entering a commercial establishment. The presence of images inside the establishments is discreet concerning the exterior for most of the types. Most gaming, amusement, and technology stores have a significant number of images inside, and only in the case of textile, clothing, and footwear stores, the presence of images is almost nil. Regarding colors, the predominant tone for all types of indoor establishments is white combined with another color of significant presence such as yellow (food, textiles, clothing, and footwear), black (jewelry and watches, and technology), and red (games and entertainment). The only establishments where a different tone and lack of white was observed were bookstores, where blue predominated in interiors.

Regarding the lighting inside the establishments, the results are consistent with the exterior lighting. The preference for the different establishments was inclined towards warm lights, except for bookstores that use cold lights in their interior lighting. For all the establishments, the variety of products available that a consumer can find according to their type is quite wide, except for the food places. Most of them focus on specific dishes or a specific gastronomic line. Furthermore, finally, inside all types of establishments, the display of offers was quite discreet for most of them, except for bookstores, which showed a strong presence of offers advertisements.

4.2. Incidence of the internal and external visual environment of commercial establishments

The instrument of incidence of the internal and external visual environment was applied to 216 clients and/or consumers of the stores of both malls. The information analysis was made according to the responses of the people who totally agree and somewhat agree according to the perception of each of the items for emotionality, concept, and preference.

Of the total surveys, 59.8% were conducted in Jardín Plaza and 40.2% in Unicentro. As shown in Table 5, most of the people who frequent the establishments are between 18 and 25 years of age (87.9%); the most frequented stores in both malls are textiles, clothing, and footwear (42.1%) and food (44%). Slightly more than half of the survey participants (58.4%) indicated purchase intentions when visiting the malls.

Table 6 addresses the perceptions that people visiting the commercial establishments located in Unicentro and Jardín Plaza perceive regarding the environment. For most types of establishments, visitors reported feeling joy mainly when entering into purchasing products or services. In many cases, this emotion is mixed with others, such as tranquility (in food and textile stores, clothing and footwear), euphoria (in games and fun), or charm (in technology). Concerning bookstores, the main emotion described is affectivity.

For the concept dimension, respondents’ answers ranged from pleasant for food stores, jewelry and watches, and technology; and comfortable for gaming and amusement establishments, bookstores and textiles, clothing, and footwear. Regarding preference, understood as the intention to return or not to return to visit the brand visited within the mall, for all types of establishments, the response indicated with percentages higher than 90% that customers intended to return.

4.3. Discussion

Neuromarketing is gaining more and more importance as a promising approach to engage consumers effectively. ^{Haase and Wiedmann (2018)} indicate that to predict and monitor the success of Sensorial Marketing activities is necessary to evaluate consumers’ perception of sensorial cues. The present study is a first stage gathered information on the internal and external aspects of food, jewelry and watches, games and amusement, bookstore, technology, and textile, clothing and footwear stores of two malls in San José de Cúcuta (Norte de Santander, Colombia), Unicentro and Jardín Plaza. Subsequently, the impact of the environments on consumers was evaluated. Although all senses allow certain stimuli to influence the purchase decision of an individual, it is the visual stimuli that show greater effectiveness when it comes to impacting the way a customer experiences a brand and, specifically, its products or services (^{Nghiêm-Phú, 2017}); therefore, the objective focused on visual perception.

^{Ramírez, Giraldo, Ramos, and Gordillo (2017)} concluded that visual marketing determines the purchase decision. From the way products are displayed, the different possibilities, combinations, and styles of what is offered, to the colors used to recreate environments and generate pleasant atmospheres, they capture the individual’s attention, activating emotions with an impact on the purchase decision (^{Krishna and Schwarz, 2014}). The present study made it possible to demonstrate that all commercial establishments in the malls in one way or another obey the principles established within visual neuromarketing, translated into positive stimuli on consumers from the internal and external environments. When evaluating how customers perceived these, it was found that most of them experienced positive emotions, purchase intention in more than 50%, and a high possibility of returning to the establishment (90% to 100%).

An interesting aspect of the findings obtained from the observation guide is that the visualization of offers was not a predominant aspect in the units of analysis or commercial establishments. In food, jewelry, and textile establishments, it was barely possible to visualize the offers that directly relate to the prices of the products. Only in bookstores was there evidence of the use of offers to attract customers through visual perception. Some studies show that advertisements about offers are an important neuromarketing strategy, including that buyers tend to pay more attention to the discount rate than to the reduced price itself, and therefore, discount labels should be placed at the center of the visual promotion (^{Boz, Arslan, and Koc, 2017}; ^{Juarez, Tur-Viñez, and Mengual, 2020}).

It is important to highlight the emotions and concepts that prevail for each type of commercial establishment. The findings indicate that joy is prevalent for all types of establishments, except for bookstores that generate affectivity. Nevertheless, it also shows the prevalence of emotional tranquility for food, textile, clothing, and footwear establishments; euphoria for gaming and amusement establishments; and charm for technology establishments. These prevalent emotions are explained by the same dynamics and practices carried out by customers in these places. On the other hand, the prevalence of concepts such as pleasant for food, jewelry, and technology stores and comfortable for games, bookstores, and textiles play an important role in the decision to purchase and return to the commercial establishment.

Nevertheless, the development of detailed studies should be considered for each type of establishment considering that the sensorial experience for each of these is different, for example, in the case of restaurants, the design of the dishes, their taste, and even the music that is available in these places. The information about the food, plays an essential role in the totality of the perceptual experience and the emotions they generate (^{Mengual-Recuerda, Tur-Viñez, and Juárez-Varón, 2020}; ^{Stasi, Mauri, Ciceri, Diotallevi, Nardone, and Russo, 2018}).