Understanding consumer's responses to negative emotions related to crowding on satisfaction and impulse purchase in retail: the mediating role of coping

Marlette Cassia Oliveira Ferreira,Marcelo Moll Brandão,Flavio Santino Bizarrias

doi:10.1016/j.rausp.2017.08.005

Marlette Cassia Oliveira Ferreira, Marcelo Moll Brandão + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rausp.2017.08.005

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Abstract

The perception of crowding, understood as an individual's response to crowds, can be observed in retail environments and influences positive and negative emotions. In this research we test the mediating effect of coping – rational strategies adopted to deal with negative emotions – in the relationship between negative emotions (resulting from crowding perception) and consumer behavior (measured by impulse purchase and satisfaction). The findings related to coping explain to what extent there is a positive response to human density in the retail environment. For this, a theoretical model was developed which includes the relationships among perception of crowding, positive and negative emotions, and consumer behavior. The model enhances the understanding of the crowding phenomenon by including relationships mediated by an oppositional strategy (coping dimension) between negative emotions and consumer behaviors. To test the theoretical model, a survey was conducted with 456 respondents and hypothesis tests using structural equation modeling. It was evidenced that crowding perception has more robust effects on negative emotions than positive emotions. It is emphasized that with the inclusion of opposition mediation, the weak direct relationship between negative emotions and behaviors, becomes a positive relationship between negative emotion and impulse purchase, and negative emotion and satisfaction. In addition to the theoretical contributions of the tested model, future research and managerial implications are proposed at the end of the article.

Highlights

One of the first published works on the purchase and social relation environment was that of Jonassen (1959)
In this study we tested the behavior of consumers under negative and positive emotions, in retail environments with high human density
The dependent variables ‘Impulse purchase’ and ‘Satisfaction’ obtained significant accuracy (0.175 and 0.26), which, together with the explained value of these variables (R2) of 31.7% and 37.8% respectively, allow us to conclude the acceptance of the proposed model

Summary

Introduction

One of the first published works on the purchase and social relation environment was that of Jonassen (1959). The quantity and composition of human or social density has been treated as one of the store environmental factors. Turley and Milliman (2000) classified the crowding of people at the point of sale as a factor that contributes to the store environment, and as one of the human factors. This research focuses on the crowding of consumers and the consequences in the store environment, since, according to Eroglu, Machleit, and Barr (2005), human density influences the perception of other factors of the store environment, such as layout and ambience. According to Mcclelland and Auslander (1978), the determinants of crowding can be physical, informative, and even social, such as type of activity and whether the large number of people are “jostling” in the retail environment. What can be perceived as crowding for some people may be normal for others, i.e., just a group of people

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