THE INFLUENCE OF PRODUCT PRESENTATION ON HOTEL WEBSITE REVISIT INTENTIONS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MENTAL IMAGERY

Abstract

The research on mental imagery in South Africa is nascent, thereby proffering fertile ground for understanding how sensory experiences and conative reactions towards hotel websites could be enhanced. This consequence steered the adoption of a unique cognitive epoch in this work, wherein the influence of mental imagery on the revisit intentions of hotel clientele is investigated. In this vein, this study asserts that selected website atmospheric elements are responsible for activating mental imagery among potential hotel guests. While using a self-administered survey instrument on a sample of 372 South African consumers, a structural equation modelling methodology was applied. The results of the study established that aesthetics (β =+0.650; p˂0.01), symbolism (β =+0.276; p˂0.01) and playfulness (β=+0.252; p˂0.01) are the three website stimuli that promote the development of mental imagery among consumers who visit hotel websites. Furthermore, mental imagery was found to have a positive and significant influence on the revisit intentions of hotel guests (β=+0.703; p˂0.01). The results of this study shed novel light on extant online retailing literature that seeks to advance the mental imagery perspective. The study provides practical information to guide tourism marketers with regard to the pivotal cues to look out for upon designing hotel websites.

Keywords

• Aesthetics, playfulness, symbolism, mental imagery, hotel websites