ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 799

International Conference | Bari - Lecce , Italy
Session XII

IMPACT OF RETAIL INDOOR ENVIRONMENT ON CONSUMER WELLBEING AND PERFORMANCE

Fathima Reaz1 & Hasim Altan1
1 Sustainable Design of the Built Environment , Faculty of Engineering & IT , British University in Dubai , UAE , fathimareaz5 @ gmail . com / hasim . altan @ buid . ac . ae
Abstract
There are concerns regarding the retail indoor environments nowadays as most people tend to visit and spend more hours indoors in such spaces , especially supermarkets and hypermarkets . This paper presents the effect of ambient factors such as lighting effects and indoor air quality effect on people in retail store indoor environments . Indoor air has a considerable impact on public health and productivity as these are contaminated with particulate and gaseous matters such as VOCs , formaldehyde , carbonyls , etc . A comprehensive literature review was conducted on the subject to identify the main domain issues . Hence , to localize the research , surveys were conducted in supermarkets and hypermarkets in the UAE . Analysis from the primary and secondary data draw the inference that most VOCs were seen in supermarket areas concerning food and cleaning products and secondly fine particulate matter especially PM 2.5 have shown to produce adverse effects on customers and people working in retail indoor environments . The findings regarding the daylighting effects show that daylighting in the stores made the customers feel that the stores were cleaner and more spacious . The paper suggests that this study would help in improving the health , productivity , comfort and performance of the general public as retail stores are considered public indoor environments . This study would also be beneficial for retailers by improving wellbeing and satisfaction of customers , which can at the same time help leading a sustainable business culture .
Keywords
Retail Stores , Indoor Environmental Quality , Human Health , Performance , Indoor Air Quality , Daylighting .
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