This article illustrates how the congruent versus incongruent representation of a brand design in the retail environment affect purchase intention. An assimilation effect occurs when the brand and retail context pairing is more pronounced, such that a low styling brand design is paired with congruent visual cues (e.g., coherent aesthetic in-store display design between the brand and the retail environment). When the two cues are inconsistent, consumers find the high appealing brand design more salient generating a contrast effect. A qualitative pilot study and one experiment show the underlying process. The results have relevant theoretical and managerial implications.
