A considerable body of psychological and neuroscientific research has demonstrated the existence of robust sensory correspondences between various features, attributes, or dimensions of experience in different sensory modalities. Despite findings indicating the importance of sensory correspondences to human information processing, research on purchase decision‐making has not to date focused sufficiently on this phenomenon. The present study examines how the lightness of packaging colors, and the location of products on a display shelf interact to affect consumers’ purchase decision‐making via perceived visual heaviness. As predicted, a display with light (dark) colored products positioned in the upper (lower) shelf positions increases shoppers’ perceptual fluency and facilitates their visual search, thus leading to the suggestion that “light” (heavy) locations are most appropriate for light (dark) colored products. Moreover, the lightness‐location congruent display is shown to influence people's choice behavior positively as well. This research also demonstrates that when consumers consider the lightness (in terms of their weight) of the products, they are more likely to choose light (vs. dark) colored products located in the upper shelf positions. These results therefore demonstrate that consumers’ purchase decision‐making may be promoted by in‐store environments designed to be congruent with their sensory correspondences.

This study examined how music frequency affected consumers’ perception and decision making. The results of three experimental studies show that music frequency affects perceived distance between the sound source and the perceiver. Consequently, the representation of marketing message that matched (vs. mismatched) the background music's frequency enhanced consumers’ evaluative judgments. Specifically, Study 1A demonstrates that low‐frequency (vs. high‐frequency) music increased perceived distance. Studies 2, 3A, and 3B indicate that low‐frequency (high‐frequency) music matched products with abstract (concrete) representations and marketing messages signifying far (near) psychological distance. The congruency between psychological distance induced by music frequency and mental representations of products and message orientation offers a novel perspective on the notion of congruency. Moreover, Study 2 provides evidence that supports the congruency–fluency–evaluation chain (i.e., the mediating role of fluency), and Studies 3A and 3B show that the congruency has downstream effects. This study provides a theoretical contribution to the literature on the effects of music in marketing contexts by presenting convergent evidence that individuals exposed to low‐frequency (high‐frequency) music are inclined to construe a marketing message at a high (low) level.

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