1 Measuring emotions in customer experiences in retail store environments. Testing the applicability of three emotion measurement instruments. Ann Petermans*, Koenraad Van Cleempoel*, Erik Nuyts* and Jan Vanrie* * PHL University College and Hasselt University, Department of Arts and Architecture Ann.petermans@phl.be Koenraad.vancleempoel@uhasselt.be Erik.nuyts@phl.be Jan.vanrie@phl.be Abstract: Since economy and marketing are shifting from a goods to a service dominant logic, creating and directing memorable customer experiences in retail store environments has become a valuable differentiation strategy. While customer experiences continually receive more attention in literature, knowledge about how to induce these experiences often lacks definitions of central concepts and empirical support. Given that different authors have acknowledged an environment’s ability to change consumer emotions and thereby affecting consumer responses, different attempts have been made to capture the mediating role of emotions on consumer responses in the retail store. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this literature by investigating the applicability of two verbal and one visual self-report emotion measurement instrument for measuring emotions in customer experiences in retail stores. Key words: Retail design, experience economy, customer experiences, emotions, measurement instruments 1. Introduction Competing in today’s global market is becoming increasingly difficult. Since customers nowadays often perceive products and services as homogeneous, retailers and manufacturers continuously need to look for differentiation strategies [16]. Differentiating oneself from the competitor by creating memorable customer experiences is therefore becoming one of the central objectives of many retail store environments [26]. In the current experience economy, customers ask and expect more than just being satisfied with the purchased brand or product and the delivered service level. Instead, they look for personal, intuitive relationships with brands and retailers [23,24]. Directing the store’s retail design towards the creation of memorable customer