Influence of personal space occupation and on the consumer’s psychological status and effective communication

Abstract

Communication at the point of sales is determined by a number of factors ranging from the layout of the furnishings to the establishment’ colors, sounds, and even smells. Nevertheless, another main aspect to consider, particularly following the impact of COVID 19, is the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) or the furnishings’ free space. The objective of this paper is to show that, despite the influence that the FAR has on the perception of the user at a psychological and communicative level, there is another ratio to take into consideration which demonstrates the impact of personal space occupation on communication and the consumer’s state of mind. A methodology has been designed to ascertain the consumer’s psychological and receptive status, and, moreover, to observe the influence of the number of subjects present in the commercial area. The methodology is based on a novel formula which provides a response to the need to include the number of consumers as a variable when understanding space. Our findings show that the FAR plays a key role in the user. Additionally, by comparing establishments under normal and extreme rates of occupation, the formula for the Personal Area Ratio (PAR), which also influences user perception, is validated.