ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 800

Introduction
Throughout the ages, indoor environment is considered to be an important domain, especially
since the first century B.C. (Aicher et al. 2001). Yildirim et al. (2007) points out that the indoor environment of a space consists of the human factor, ambient factor and the design factor. Bluyssen
(2009) states that the main aspects that govern the quality of the indoor environment are as follow:
1. Indoor air quality which comprises of odour, air pollution, air supply and exchange.
2. Thermal comfort which comprises of the moisture content, air velocities, temperature, etc.
3. Acoustical comfort which comprises of internal or external vibrations and noise.
4. Visual quality that consists of lighting effects, intensities, luminance, etc.
Considering above aspects, indoor environment creates a positive consequence on our health,
wellbeing, productivity and comfort.
This study concentrates on the ambient constituents such as lighting effects and indoor air quality effect on humans in retail stores indoor environment .In this paper, the characteristic or type of
retail store considered and studied upon are supermarkets and hypermarkets. It has shown that
increased number of visitors in retail areas and the number of hours spend in this environment
has given rise in concerns on the quality of air in these areas (Amodio et al. 2014). Indoor air has a
considerable impression on public health and productivity as these are contaminated with particulate and gaseous matter such as VOCs, formaldehyde, carbonyls, etc. (Wolkoff 1995).
Nowadays, people tend to while away a lot of time in shopping malls and departmental stores
as one has an opportunity to buy ones daily goods as well as enjoy a meal afterwards due to
the huge number or cafes and restaurants incorporated in these stores. However, the more time
people spend in these areas, the more they are prone to many indoor pollutants and other indoor environmental factors that may adversely affect a person’s health and wellbeing. Thus, it
is of utmost importance to have good knowledge in this domain so as to promote a better and
healthier environment for all. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country that is keen on a sustainable future. Although not many studies are completed regarding the retail indoor environment in this region, thus this comprehensive study would help create guidelines and knowledge
in this domain. This study is aiming to analyze how the indoor environment quality can affect the
consumer wellbeing and performance in a retail store environment and how it can be enhanced
to promote productivity and health.

Methodology
This study conducts a literature review to understand the domain parameters first and then to
relate with the primary data collected through survey in retail environments in the UAE. This is
part of an ongoing research on retail environments in the country and due to limitations of time
only a few number of surveys could be conducted.
A comprehensive review was conducted and main parameters were highlighted for the study.
The literature review established a solid base for the domain of study. Moreover, field observations was conducted in order to understand the parameters affecting the consumers in four retail stores in the UAE, mainly in Dubai and Sharjah. Furthermore, a survey was conducted on 48
consumers (equal number of males and females) to find how the parameters affect the wellbeing

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ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce, Italy