Online retailers have gained massive popularity in recent years, plunging large parts of brick-and-mortar retail into an existential crisis. In order to survive in times of growing online retail, brick-and-mortar retailers must become aware of their unique potential to address non-digitizable consumer needs and transform retail environments into places of experience and discovery. A key building block for achieving this aim lies in the creation of sensory experiences that motivate consumers to enter and linger in stationary retail environments.

Marko Sarstedt is a Chaired Professor of Marketing at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (Germany) and an Adjunct Research Professor at Babe -Bolyai-University Cluj-Napoca (Romania). His main research interest is the advancement of research methods to further the understanding of consumer behavior. His research has been published in Nature Human Behavior, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Multivariate Behavioral Research, Organizational Research Methods, MIS Quarterly, and Psychometrika, among others. His publications are among the most cited papers in the social sciences, with over 100,000 citations. Marko Sarstedt is a member of Clarivate Analytic's Highly Cited Researcher List. In March 2022, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Babe -Bolyai University of Cluj for his research achievements and international collaboration.