Sensory Experiences in Retail: Linking Visitors’ Review with Commercial Revitalization

This study explores the importance of sensory experiences of visitors to commercial streets and their role in vitalizing commercial districts, based on big data analysis using review data of social media. With the growth of online commerce, the vitality and function of commercial streets has been declining. According to sensory marketing theory, it is essential to develop commercial spaces that allow consumers to have positive experiences directly with their five senses, which is difficult to replace with online commerce, in order to attract more visitors. Urban designers and scholars have also emphasized the importance of sensory experiences in urban open spaces to revitalize commercial areas. Visitors evaluate their experiences with their five senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste - in offline commercial streets or stores, and unique and enjoyable sensory experiences can lead them to stay longer or revisit the places. Special visit experiences are often shared on social media, and these reviews contribute to attracting new visitors. Therefore, this study examines whether stores with positive sensory experiences on the commercial street attract more visitors. To explore the relationship between sensory experiences and commercial revitalization, this study analyzes Google review data for a place of interest (POI) in Seoul between 2017 and 2021 using text-mining techniques. Based on a dictionary-based classification of five sense-related experiences from the review data, the sensory experiences of each POI are quantified. Then, the sensory experiences of each POI are aggregated into those of a commercial block. Finally, the connection between floating population and sensory experiences at a commercial block level is analyzed using a spatial econometric model. The findings of this study could provide a new perspective in understanding the characteristics of urban commercial districts and be the basis for developing revitalization strategies of commercial areas.