Does the Identification With Other Consumers Minimize The Crowding Effect? The Perceived Similarity’s Role

Abstract

The study proposes that the consumer’s identification towards other clients who share the same retail environment minimizes the crowding effect. Thus, it was investigated how perceived similarity moderates the effect of human density on crowding perception, as well as crowding perception on consumer satisfaction. From an experimental study design, research hypotheses have been tested, and findings show that perceived similarity contributes to the negative effect of crowding being mitigated. The results also suggest that this variable is related to the consumer´s attitudes towards retailers, products and shopping experience. This work introduces a variable that has been neglected, regarding the crowding phenomena in the retail environment. It also extends the research possibilities on the role of social dimension of the retailing environment over the consumer behavior.

Keywords

• similaridade percebida
• crowding
• varejo