Effects of Store Density and Perceived Price Benefit of Sale on Perceived Crowding

Abstract

Abstract This study examined: 1) the effect of store density on perceived crowding 2) the difference of perceivedprice benefit of sale by store density 3) the effect of perceived price benefit and store density on perceivedcrowding and 4) the effect of perceived crowding and price benefit on shopping behaviors. Store densityand perceived crowding were categorized into social and spatial dimensions. Data were collected with 6(high, medium, and low social and spatial densities) * 2 (sale and no-sale) between-subjects experimentaldesigns. A total of 395 responses were analyzed. The results revealed that social density affected social crow-ding, but spatial density had no effect on perceived crowding. Price benefit of sale was not different by storedensity. The sale itself did not affect perceived crowding. Under the social density situation, perceived pricebenefit reduced spatial crowding and social crowding showed a positive effect on purchase behavior whilespatial crowding had a negative effect. However, the most important effect on purchase behavior was pricebenefit. The study implies that social density (not spatial density) is important for consumer behavior andretail strategies.Key words: Retail crowding, Store density, Sale, Perceived price benefit, Spatial and human density; 점포 혼잡성, 점포 밀도, 세일, 가격혜택, 공간적 및 사회적 밀도