Disabling atmospheres: How consumers with disabilities experience affects of abnormalcy and ableism in the marketplace

To date, understanding of atmospheres in marketing theory has concentrated primarily on how those who are able-bodied navigate, consume and experience marketplace settings. To address this, we conduct a conceptual review of marketplace accessibility literature that turns atmospheric focus to an oft negated group, consumers with disabilities (CwD). In doing so, we conceptualise disabling atmospheres by reframing a conceptualisation of consumer normalcy, examining how CwD experience ‘affects of abnormalcy’ in marketplace settings, namely: invisibility, devalue, incompetence and unwelcome . We reveal that these affects are outcomes of disabling atmospheres that are predicated on ableist tenets of Independence, Regulation and Contortion . We offer the following contributions. Firstly, we provide a much-needed additional perspective in how atmospheres are studied and thought of, moving research to consider more macro-social and macro-systemic failings of atmospheres and how they may disable, exclude and disenfranchise minority groups. Secondly, we advance marketplace accessibility literature by bringing together a theorisation of disabling atmospheres, which has been implied but never explicitly addressed. Finally, through our theorisation, we offer a provocation to future scholars and practitioners; how can we ‘disable’ the disabling atmospheres permeating our marketplaces.