Abstract:
A distinctive retailing needs to improve its image in the long-run.
Atmosphere can help to create that positive customer image which
leads to customer satisfaction. It not only encourages customer
satisfaction, but also reinforces the store advertising effort. Internal
and external atmosphere variables play the main role in the success
or failure of retailing. Atmosphere can be defined as everything that
customer sees, both internal and external, that creates a positive
image of a business and result in attention, interest, desire and
action on the part of the customer. As far as product that are offered
by the supermarkets are concerned, it is very similar in the industry
level. But the differentiator is the level of service quality and how
customers perceived it. Therefore, supermarkets can apply internal
and external atmosphere variables. The main objective of the
research study is to identify the role of internal and external
atmosphere on customer satisfaction related in the supermarket
segment in Matara district. Data were collected through a
structured questionnaire from 205 respondents who were willing
to purchase products from Cargills Food City in Matara district.
Collected data were analyzed using correlation and regression
techniques through SPSS. Findings revealed that, atmosphere
variables have a high impact on customer satisfaction in
supermarkets. In terms of regression analysis, there is a significant
positive impact of atmosphere attributes on customer satisfaction.
Furthermore, correlation proved that, there is a positive
relationship between studied variables of internal atmosphere,
external atmosphere and customer satisfaction. Therefore,
supermarket atmosphere does have impact on customer
satisfaction and it is recommended that supermarkets must take
due care creating and developing its atmosphere variables
