Façade-level biophilic design and consumer behaviour in luxury retail: a stimulus–organism–response analysis of modular living walls

Modular living walls (MLWs) are increasingly adopted as biophilic façade interventions in high-end commercial environments, yet their behavioural effects at luxury retail entrances remain underexplored. Grounded in the stimulus–organism–response framework, this study investigates how MLWs integrated into luxury retail façades influence visitors’ perceptual, emotional, and behavioural responses at the Beauty Galleria of The Exchange TRX, Kuala Lumpur. Using a field-based survey and structural equation modelling with 400 visitors, the study examines the relationships among MLW presence, perceived naturalness, pleasure, arousal, perceived restorativeness, façade attractiveness, and behavioural intentions. The results show that MLWs significantly enhance perceived naturalness, pleasure, arousal, and perceived restorativeness. These organismic responses positively influence perceived façade attractiveness, which in turn strongly predicts both approach intention and photo-taking intention. Façade attractiveness emerged as a central mediating mechanism, while the indirect effect of MLWs on behavioural intentions was significant. The model explained a substantial proportion of variance in façade attractiveness and confirmed that consumer responses to biophilic façades are primarily shaped through sequential perceptual and affective processes rather than direct stimulus effects. This study extends the application of the S–O–R framework to façade-level biophilic design and provides practical evidence that MLWs can enhance first impressions and consumer engagement in luxury retail environments.

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