Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of atmospherics in the creation of an hedonic retail experience by comparing the perceived differences between a retail environment attempting to provide an hedonic experience and one with a more utilitarian focus. Design/methodology/approach -A qualitative methodology was employed, using protocol analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews that were conducted with ten participants. Findings -The paper highlights several atmospheric cues and their influence on the hedonic retail experience. The first category of cues -attractive stimuli -were those cues that attracted attention, exciting the participant and eliciting approach behaviours. The second category -facilitating stimuliincluded those cues that were necessary in order to facilitate product engagement. Originality/value -The paper provides a broad categorisation of atmospheric cues, providing factors that shop designers can be aware of when creating a store with the hedonic experience in mind.