商店拥挤对商品销售的双刃剑效应——基于产品流行性与产品独特性的中介效应

The Double-edged Sword Effect of Store Crowding on In-store Product Sales——Based on the Mediation Effect of Product Popularity and Product Uniqueness

商店拥挤是购物场所比较常见的一种现象,已有研究往往致力于探讨商店拥挤对商店产品的消极影响或者聚焦商店拥挤对商店产品的积极影响,对于商店拥挤对商店产品购买意愿的影响到底是消极的还是积极的,尚未形成比较一致的结论。基于以往研究,有理由推测,商店拥挤情境下,消费者对商店产品的不同推断可能取决于消费者的自我建构水平。可通过两个实验来探究商店拥挤与自我建构对商店产品购买意愿的交互影响,并构建双中介机制。结果发现,商店拥挤与自我建构的交互作用对商店产品购买意愿产生影响,而产品独特性和产品流行性中介了商店拥挤与自我建构对商店产品购买意愿的影响。对独立型自我建构的消费者而言,商店拥挤(vs非拥挤)会使消费者推断产品缺乏独特性,从而负向影响对商店产品的购买意愿;对互依型自我建构的消费者而言,商店拥挤(vs非拥挤)会使消费者推断产品具备流行性,从而正向影响商店产品购买意愿。在营销沟通实践中,零售商店应针对消费者不同的自我建构水平来控制零售店顾客的数量,以增加消费者对商店产品的流行性推断和独特性推断,最终增强消费者对商店产品的购买意愿。

Store crowding is a common phenomenon in shopping. Previous research focuses on the negative impact of store crowding on in-store products,or focuses on the positive impact of store crowding on in-store products. However,there is the lack of consistent conclusions concerning the impact of store crowding on in-store product purchase willingness. Based on previous research,it is reasonable for us to infer that,under the background of store crowding,consumer’s inference about instore product depends on the level of consumer’s self-construction. Two experiments are conducted to study the impact of the interactive relation between store crowding and self-construction on the purchase intention of in-store products;and a dual intermediary mechanism is proposed. It is found that:the interactive relation between store crowding and self-construction has impact on in-store product purchase intentions;and product uniqueness and product popularity mediate the effects of store crowding and self-construal on in-store product purchase intentions. For the consumers with independent self-construction,store crowding(vs. non-crowding)makes consumers infer that there is the lack of products uniqueness,thereby negatively affecting instore product purchase intentions;and for consumers with interdependent self-construction,store crowding(vs. non-crowding)makes consumers to infer that products are popular,thus positively affecting in-store product purchase willingness. In marketing communication activities,retail stores should control the number of customers based on the consumers’ different self-construction levels,thereby increasing consumer product popularity inference and product uniqueness inference,and ultimately enhancing consumer’s purchases intentions of in-store product.