O efeito da interação entre percepção de crowding e motivação de compra na qualidade percebida da loja e na intenção de compra do consumidor

Abstract

High density is a common issue faced in retailing’s daily routine. The perception of this density at a level that starts causing feelings of discomfort is called perception of crowding. This is characterized by occur when space demanded by the individual is greater than the space that is available to him. When the person reaches this point, realizing crowding, he has a number of unpleasant sensations in psychological, cognitive and even physiological terms. This experience can make the consumer leave the store, not returning and produce negative word-of-mouth. This research sought to address the concepts and empirical applications of this phenomenon and relate it to another variable that also resonates in consumer universe: buying motivation. In order to find out if there is an interaction between these two variables, two experimental studies were conducted, with perceived quality and purchase intention as dependent variables. The first study confirmed the main effect, showing the tendency that the higher the crowding perception, less quality of the store will be perceived and less purchase intention the consumers will show. In the second study, the interaction between crowding and type of motivation, hedonic or utilitarian, was tested. The results showed that buying motivation acts like a moderator in the relationship between crowding perception and purchase intention, but not between perceived crowding and perceived quality. Although interaction occurs for purchase intention, this result also didn’t behave as expected: in the presence of low crowding perception, subjects with utilitarian motivation had higher purchase intention than consumers with hedonic motivation. Reflections on the concept and forms of manipulation and measurement of the involved variables are made, as well as deliberations and final considerations regarding the results and hypotheses confirmed or refuted. Lastly, we highlighted some limitations of the studies and identified opportunities for future research.