Research on the Construction Path and Practical Strategies of the

"Sense of Relaxation" in the Brand Marketing of Muji: From

Psychological Placebo to Consumption Resonance

Zhen Chen

1,*

and Ke Ni

Fuyuan British American School, Shenzhen, 518100, China

Zhejiang Hangzhou High School, Hangzhou, 310000, China

Keywords: Sense of Relaxation, Brand Marketing, Muji.

Abstract: In today’s fast-paced and high-intensity modern society, consumer shopping demands have shifted from mere

material satisfaction to seeking psychological and emotional comfort and relaxation. This shift has led to the

emergence of “relaxation” marketing. This study focuses on the concept of “relaxation” in brand marketing,

first clarifying its connotation and essential characteristics, analyzing the marketing strategies that instill

“relaxation” in products, and finally summarizing the impact on brand development. Taking Muji as a typical

case, this paper explores its brand philosophy, spatial experience, content, and social media marketing strategies

related to “relaxation”, as well as consumer behavior and identification mechanisms. The study extracts a

theoretical model and mechanism for constructing “relaxation” driven by three factors: perception shaping,

experience deepening, and emotional resonance. The findings not only fill the research gap in “relaxation”

marketing, offering theoretical contributions to academia, but also provide enterprises with new emotional

marketing strategies, supporting brand differentiation in competitive pathways.

1 INTRODUCTION

In today’s society, the fast-paced lifestyle and high

work pressures are omnipresent, permeating people’s

daily routines. In this environment, consumer

shopping demands have undergone a profound

transformation, no longer confined to material

satisfaction alone. Amid their busy lives, consumers

long for psychological comfort and emotional

relaxation from brands, hoping that the brand can

serve as an emotional support and refuge. Much like

finding a peaceful harbor in a bustling world, they

seek a temporary respite for their weary minds.

Brands that focus on creating a sense of “relaxation”

achieve this through minimalist designs, eliminating

unnecessary decorations, and using simple lines to

highlight the purity of their products. They employ

gentle color tones such as beige and light blue, soft

hues that convey warmth and tranquility. Natural

materials like unbleached cotton, linen, and raw wood

are used, making consumers feel that, through the use

of these products, they can unload the weight of the

world and reconnect with nature, experiencing a

gradual integration with it, which effectively

alleviates their emotional burdens and brings inner

peace. Meanwhile, the rapid development and

widespread dissemination of social media have

accelerated the rise of “relaxation”. More and more

brands have keenly captured this trend, incorporating

“relaxation” elements into product development and

marketing strategies to attract consumers’ attention

and loyalty, setting themselves apart in a competitive

market and creating unique brand sparks. In the study

“From Psychological Placebo to Consumer

Resonance: The Construction and Practice of

’Relaxation’ in Brand Marketing”, the role of

psychological placebo in marketing is not to be

overlooked. Its marketing strategy subtly influences

consumers’ cognition and emotions during shopping,

thus gaining the trust and affection of the consumer

group.

From a cognitive perspective, according to

Whang et al. (2020), when consumers are faced with

a large number of similar products, they often

struggle with which brand to choose. At such times,

if a brand uses “relaxation” as a marketing theme,

consumers subconsciously believe that purchasing

that brand’s product will solve their inner indecision

and reduce the probability of making a wrong choice.

132

Chen, Z. and Ni, K.

Research on the Construction Path and Practical Strategies of the "Sense of Relaxation" in the Brand Marketing of Muji: From Psychological Placebo to Consumption Resonance.

DOI: 10.5220/0013835300004719

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on E-commerce and Modern Logistics (ICEML 2025), pages 132-137

ISBN: 978-989-758-775-7

Even though the product itself may not actually have

the effect of easing psychological burdens, this

marketing approach subtly implies to the consumer,

creating a relaxed and positive emotion, which

enhances the consumer’s liking for the product and

willingness to purchase.

From an emotional perspective, as Zhu and

Huang (2018) pointed out, consumers’ emotional

experiences are particularly crucial in brand

marketing. Psychological placebos can evoke

positive emotional responses in consumers. As a

popular emotional appeal in the current era that aligns

with the needs of consumers in high-stress

environments, the concept of “relaxation” enables

consumers to experience joy, ease, and comfort

associated with a brand. This emotional connection

fosters a strong bond between the brand and the

consumer, promotes word-of-mouth marketing,

expands the consumer base, enhances customer

loyalty, and ultimately brings positive social benefits

to the brand.

From a behavioral standpoint, according to Li

(2019), psychological placebos can guide consumers

in choosing and purchasing a brand’s products. By

cultivating a brand atmosphere of "relaxation"—for

example, through the use of lighthearted advertising

language, comfortable store layouts, and minimalist

product designs—consumers subconsciously

associate the brand with an uplifting and relaxed

lifestyle. They are more likely to purchase products in

pursuit of this psychological satisfaction, especially

those who seek relief from stress and aspire to a

simple, tranquil life. Through psychological cues that

stimulate emotional resonance, brands achieve both

communication and sales objectives.

From the perspective of consumer resonance, the

theoretical framework of consumer resonance is

central to understanding the impact of “relaxation” in

brand marketing. Many studies have provided

definitions of consumer resonance. Keller’s (2013)

brand resonance model suggests that brand resonance

is not merely the awareness of a brand, but rather the

creation of enduring brand relationships through

consumers’ emotional responses and social

identification. “Relaxation”, as an emotional

regulation mechanism, can stimulate consumers’

feelings of ease and comfort through emotional

design, visual elements, communication style, and

other factors in brand communication, thereby further

fostering the formation of consumer resonance. For

instance, brands can create a warm, tranquil, and

comfortable atmosphere to make consumers feel

relaxed, thereby establishing a strong emotional

connection (Thomson, MacInnis, & Park, 2005). This

"relaxation" is often conveyed through emotional

advertisements, soothing tones, and relaxed

storytelling methods, ultimately leading to consumer

recognition and brand loyalty (Escalas, 2004).

Therefore, brands should pay attention to emotional

design in their marketing, especially for target groups

seeking relaxation and comfort, using the theory of

consumer resonance to maximize brand value.

Against this backdrop, this study will delve

deeper into the topic. First, it will clearly define the

internal concept of “relaxation” in brand marketing

and accurately pinpoint its essential characteristics.

Second, it will comprehensively analyze the specific

marketing strategies brands use to imbue their

products with “relaxation”, and how these methods,

like psychological placebos, provide consumers with

emotional support and comfort. The study will also

examine the profound impact of “relaxation”

marketing on brand development. Using Muji as a

case study, this paper aims to deepen the

understanding of consumer psychological

mechanisms in brand marketing, provide theoretical

support for companies to develop marketing

strategies with emotional value, and offer new

differentiated competitive paths for brands in a

fiercely competitive market. Furthermore, it will

contribute to the academic field by promoting

systematic research on “relaxation” marketing,

offering new perspectives for the innovation of future

brand marketing theories.

2 INTRODUCTION TO MUJI

BRAND

In 1983, Muji opened its first flagship store in

Aoyama, Tokyo. The minimalist store design and

simple products quickly attracted consumers’

attention. Subsequently, the brand embarked on an

international expansion, opening its first stores in the

UK and Hong Kong in 1991, spreading its unique

Japanese aesthetic of simplicity and practicality to

regions beyond Asia and introducing consumers from

different cultural backgrounds to the idea of

minimalist and functional products. In the 21st

century, Muji accelerated its globalization. In 2003, it

established a company in Singapore, officially

entering the Southeast Asian market. In 2005, it

entered China, where its distinctive brand image and

high-quality products rapidly gained popularity in

major cities and were enthusiastically embraced by

consumers. In 2007, Muji successfully entered the

U.S. market, further expanding its global market

influence. In 2012 and 2013, the brand entered

Malaysia and the Middle East, continuing to expand

its market presence in different regions. During this

period, Muji not only continued to deepen its presence

in retail but also innovated in its business model. In

Research on the Construction Path and Practical Strategies of the "Sense of Relaxation" in the Brand Marketing of Muji: From

Psychological Placebo to Consumption Resonance

133

2019, the opening of Muji’s Ginza restaurant and

Ginza hotel marked the brand’s extension from pure

product retail to a comprehensive lifestyle experience.

Muji has always pursued the philosophy of “simple,

natural, and quality living”, offering consumers

minimalist, natural, high-quality, and reasonably

priced products. It avoids waste in material production

and emphasizes environmental sustainability. In

product development, Muji has continuously provided

consumers with high-quality choices, ensuring that

users feel the brand’s dedication and experience a

sense of inner peace and tranquility when using its

products, thus reflecting the aspiration for a beautiful

life. Throughout its development, Muji has received

numerous honors. In 2017, it was ranked 230th in

Asia’s top 500 companies, highlighting its strong

influence and brand value in the Asian market. This

recognition reflects the brand’s active exploration and

potential in retail model innovation and digital

development. These achievements not only affirm

Muji’s past successes but also lay a foundation for its

future development, inspiring continuous innovation

and the delivery of higher-quality products and

services to consumers.

3 CASE ANALYSIS

3.1 Brand Philosophy

Muji’s brand philosophy centers on “a pleasant life”,

aiming to provide consumers with a high-quality

lifestyle through minimalist design, environmentally

friendly materials, and premium product quality. For

example, Muji emphasizes “simplicity” by

eliminating unnecessary decorations and processing,

retaining only the most essential functions of its

products to reflect the value of “reducing unnecessary

waste”. It also focuses on “practicality”, with great

attention to durability and functionality, embodying

the brand’s core belief in “quality first”. Thoughtful,

practical design details—such as umbrellas with

hooks for hanging shopping bags—leave a lasting

impression on consumers. As Chitturi et al. (2007)

pointed out, effective design contributes to an ideal

consumer experience and positively influences

subsequent purchasing behavior. Muji also adopts a

no-logo strategy, encouraging consumers to focus on

the product itself rather than the influence of brand

labels. Additionally, Muji strives to use natural and

recyclable materials in both products and packaging,

promoting sustainable development and minimizing

exposure to harmful substances. This reflects its

environmental values and commitment to “eco-

friendliness” and “harmony between humans and

nature”. These values support the brand’s marketing

strategy by helping establish a unique and memorable

brand personality. Such values are key to generating

consumer resonance, recognition, affection, and

emotional connection. Muji’s brand philosophy

particularly appeals to consumers aged 18 to 50, a

group that tends to favor simplicity, authenticity, and

quality over the bright, saturated aesthetics associated

with excessive visual stimulation.

3.2 Spatial Experience and the Sense of

Relaxation

Taking offline experience as an example, Muji’s

physical stores predominantly adopt natural and plain

color tones such as brown, white, and beige, creating

a clean, warm, and tranquil atmosphere that enhances

the user experience and visually relaxes customers.

The background music played in the store is also

soothing, ensuring a stress-free shopping process and

promoting auditory relaxation. Product displays in

Muji stores follow minimalist principles—organized,

concise, and with intentional white space—to

maintain visual harmony across different areas and

create a calm, healing experience for customers

during product selection. Soft and warm lighting is

used to foster a cozy and immersive environment.

Rest areas are available, allowing customers to pause

and relax when tired or to handle urgent matters,

providing a tactile sense of being at home. Changing

rooms ensure privacy and convenience, reducing pre-

purchase pressure and fostering a relaxed shopping

experience. As Pham and Sun (2020) noted,

consumers’ willingness to pay for retail products and

services increases by 11% when they are in a relaxed

state. Muji also offers reliable after-sales service in its

offline stores: products with quality issues can be

returned within 30 days with proof of purchase, and

items with sizing issues can be exchanged within 7

days. The return process is simple—customers can

bring the receipt and item to any Muji store, where

staff will assist with inspection and processing.

Returned items are carefully checked for signs of use

or damage, and eligible returns are promptly refunded

or exchanged, ensuring that the interests of the next

customer are protected.

3.3 Content Marketing and Social

Media Marketing of the Sense of

Relaxation

In content marketing, Muji has always adhered to a

simple and authentic creative style, contrasting

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sharply with the exaggerated and attention-grabbing

content marketing strategies popular today. Its

official blog, magazines, and promotional materials

rarely feature ornate language or flashy images;

instead, they share small stories and practical

experiences from daily life. For example, Muji often

publishes in its magazines how ordinary people use

Muji products to create cozy and comfortable homes,

showcasing home decor examples that are full of life

and demonstrating how these products seamlessly

integrate into real-life settings to bring convenience

and beauty to daily living.

In the age of social media, Muji has fully

leveraged major platforms to spread the concept of

relaxation to a wider audience. On social platforms

like Instagram and Weibo, Muji’s posts exude a

simple, soothing style. The product images shared

often feature simple, natural backgrounds, using solid

colors or natural landscapes to highlight the

minimalist design and natural texture of the products.

The placement of products in these images appears

casual yet aesthetically pleasing, as if they were

placed there inadvertently, yet perfectly showcasing

the product’s features and appeal. The videos, often

narrative-driven, subtly present the advantages,

characteristics, and values of the products in a non-

intrusive way, creating a relaxed and practical

atmosphere for the product. For example, a video

Muji posted tells the story of a person traveling with

Muji products, including a cosmetic bag and a travel

backpack. The video discusses how Muji products

make their life more convenient, presented in a

casual, everyday-sharing manner, with cheerful

background music, evoking a relaxed feeling that

doesn’t feel like an advertisement at all.

Additionally, Muji regularly hosts online

interactive activities such as photography contests and

life-hack sharing. These activities all focus on daily

life and the sense of relaxation, encouraging

consumers to discover and capture beautiful moments

in their own way. Through these activities, Muji has

successfully built a vibrant and interactive brand

community, where consumers feel a sense of

belonging and identification, further strengthening the

connection between the brand and the sense of

relaxation.

3.4 Consumer Behavior and

Identification Mechanisms

Consumers choose Muji products not just to satisfy

material needs but, more importantly, to pursue a

lifestyle and spiritual fulfillment. For example, when

purchasing a Muji aroma diffuser, consumers are not

only interested in its ability to release a refreshing

fragrance and improve indoor air quality but, more

importantly, they seek to create a tranquil and

relaxing atmosphere in their lives through its use.

Similarly, when buying Muji’s minimalist stationery,

consumers are pursuing a simple and efficient state of

learning and work. These stationery items lack

extravagant decorations but fulfill consumers’ desires

for quality and practicality through their fine

craftsmanship and functional design. While using

these items, consumers are able to focus more on their

learning or work, avoiding distractions caused by

overly complicated designs, and thus achieving a

balance in their work and life, transitioning from

material consumption to spiritual satisfaction.

As Fournier (1998) mentioned, when consumers

derive emotional value beyond the product itself, their

loyalty to the brand increases. Baser (2023) further

proved that brand product experiences contribute to

loyalty at an effectiveness rate of 42%, far higher than

traditional marketing methods. Muji has successfully

attracted a large number of consumers with shared life

philosophies by continuously providing brand content

and experiences related to relaxation. These

consumers gradually develop a strong sense of

identification and loyalty to the brand through their

use of Muji products. They are not just customers of

Muji, but also promoters and practitioners of its brand

philosophy. For example, some consumers actively

share their experiences using Muji products on social

media, showcasing how they use Muji products to

create a relaxing living space. They post photos and

texts on platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and others,

recommending Muji products to their friends and

explaining how these products have transformed their

lifestyles, helping them find moments of peace and

relaxation in their busy lives. This word-of-mouth

method not only attracts the attention of potential

consumers but also further strengthens existing

consumers’ sense of identification and belonging with

the brand.

4 CONSTRUCTING THE

RELAXATION MARKETING

SYSTEM

In the field of brand marketing, the mechanism for

constructing “relaxation” can be theoretically

distilled into a three-dimensional driving model:

Perception Shaping - Experience Deepening -

Emotional Resonance.

From the perspective of perception shaping, the

focus is on deeply studying the sources of stress in the

target consumers’ daily lives and simplifying the

operational process from a functional standpoint. For

example, smart home products can reduce user steps

by offering scene mode settings. Brands use product

Research on the Construction Path and Practical Strategies of the "Sense of Relaxation" in the Brand Marketing of Muji: From

Psychological Placebo to Consumption Resonance

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design, visual communication, and brand storytelling

to convey a de-stressing image, creating a tranquil

and soothing sensory experience, thereby lowering

consumers’ decision-making costs. This enables

consumers to cognitively associate the brand with

“relaxation” and develop expectations of a relaxing

experience with the brand.

In the realm of experience deepening, brands

engage multiple sensory experiences, optimize

interactive experiences, and incorporate emotional

design into product functions. For example, in using

aromatic products, the experience extends beyond

just soothing fragrances; it can be complemented with

soft music and warm lighting to create a fully

immersive relaxation atmosphere. By integrating

relaxation into the process of consumers interacting

with the product or service—such as through

comfortable packaging or pressure-free service

policies—brands strengthen the consumer’s

psychological sense of relaxation, thereby enhancing

the emotional value of the brand.

From the emotional dimension, emotional

resonance plays a long-term sustaining role. Brands

establish emotional connections between consumers

through community interactions, UGC (User-

Generated Content), and social media operations.

Methods such as collaborations with KOLs (Key

Opinion Leaders) and user story sharing help create

deep consumer identification and a sense of

belonging, internalizing the brand into their lifestyle

and boosting brand loyalty. This three-dimensional

driving model provides a systematic approach to

emotional marketing, helping brands create a

psychological placebo effect and achieve consumer

resonance.

In terms of visual communication, brands can

utilize natural elements such as the ocean or sky in

advertisements, packaging, and store designs to

convey a relaxed atmosphere. These scenes help

alleviate visual fatigue and provide a sense of calm.

Brands can also tell real-life stories, showing how

they help consumers find moments of relaxation

amidst busy lives. For example, a brand might share

a story about a workplace professional finding a

relaxing moment during a hectic workday, with a cup

of coffee, sparking emotional resonance among

consumers.

5 CONCLUSION

In modern society, consumer shopping demands have

shifted from material to psychological and emotional

fulfillment, with “relaxation” becoming a fashionable

trend. Through the analysis of cases such as Muji, it

was found that "relaxation" marketing is primarily

realized in two areas: brand design and advertising

promotion. Taking Muji as an example, first, its brand

design adopts a minimalist style and uses

environmentally friendly materials to create practical

and simple products that retain only basic functions

while eliminating unnecessary decorations. This

conveys the concept of avoiding excessive packaging

and emphasizing the brand’s intrinsic quality.

Secondly, in advertising, Muji uses social media to

drive the minimalist trend and showcase its practical

value, using the understated appearance of the

products to communicate the concept of relaxation.

At the same time, a theoretical model of the

"relaxation" construction mechanism, driven by the

interaction of perception shaping, experience

deepening, and emotional resonance, has been

formulated, providing clear guidance for brands in

incorporating “relaxation” into their marketing

processes.

Currently, there is a significant gap in the

systematic study of “relaxation” marketing within the

academic field. This research aims to fill this gap,

offering contributions that not only assist the

academic community in improving theoretical

understanding but also provide strong theoretical

support for businesses to develop more emotionally

valuable marketing strategies. In today’s highly

competitive market, this study also opens new

differentiated competitive paths for businesses,

helping them stand out.

In conclusion, this study has certain limitations.

On one hand, it has not explored the synergistic

effects of “relaxation” marketing with other

marketing elements. On the other hand, the number

of cases analyzed is limited and shows a high degree

of homogeneity. Moreover, the study lacks

supporting data and official information, which

restricts its generalizability. In the future, researchers

can delve deeper into the underlying logic of

“relaxation” marketing from a consumer psychology

perspective, and supplement more cases and data to

enhance the scientific rigor and persuasiveness of the

research.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTION

All the authors contributed equally and their names

were listed in alphabetical order.

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