Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effect of age, gender and education level on customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes (colour, lighting type, musical genre/tempo/volume, circulation area, lighting, climatic conditions, ambient scent and cleanliness) in the context of retail furniture stores. Design/methodology/approach – To that end, a questionnaire was administered to 273 customers who shopped at furniture stores in the Siteler district of Ankara. The reliability coefficients of the data were defined based on their percentage values. Then, to examine the effect of age, gender and education level on customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes, the appropriate χ2 analysis was applied. Findings – Significant differences in customer evaluations of store atmospheric attributes emerged based on age, gender and education level. Based on those results, certain store atmospheric attributes (colour, lighting type, musical genre/tempo/volume) preferred by customers were suggested to enhance the design of furniture stores. In addition, the store’s circulation area, lighting, climatic conditions, ambient scent and cleanliness were found to have a significant impact on the duration of customer visits to furniture stores. Originality/value – The study scientifically assessed the effects of age, gender and education on the perceptions of customers in terms of ambient atmosphere. Application of these findings to store design should have positive effects on the willingness of customers to remain in the store and should positively affect their shopping decisions.