Commercial spaces combine diverse auditory sources with strong visual stimuli. In such settings, soundscape quality together with visual quality, is critical for user experience, and a multisensory approach can shape visitor’s perceived acoustic comfort. This study therefore investigates how visual environments affect soundscape perception across indoor, arcade, and outdoor commercial streets. An immersive VR-based subjective assessment of six commercial streets in South Korea and Japan was conducted under Audio-Only (AO) and Audio-Visual (AV) conditions. The results revealed that visual stimuli generally reduced the perceived dominance of sound sources and the perceived loudness of the sound environment. Visual stimuli significantly influenced the perceived spatial impressions of soundscapes, particularly in indoor and arcade settings, making them perceived as more enclosed under an AV condition than an AO condition. Interestingly, arcade environments exhibited soundscape characteristics akin to indoor spaces, suggesting they should be managed similarly in soundscape assessment. The affective quality of soundscape showed significant differences between AO and AV conditions in indoor and outdoor commercial spaces, whereas arcade environments exhibited no notable changes. Particularly, the pleasantness of the soundscape significantly differed between AO and AV conditions across all indoor and outdoor locations. Overall, the soundscape quality was significantly affected by visual input and strongly correlated with perceived visual quality. Path analysis revealed that auditory satisfaction, visual satisfaction, and audio-visual congruence significantly influenced overall environmental satisfaction, explaining 60.2% of the total variance. These findings underscore the necessity of integrated, multisensory design strategies for commercial street environments. 

URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132325013733