Effects of Crowding in Marketing:

Progress and Future Directions of Perceived Crowding Research

Abstract

This article reviews studies on perceived crowding conducted in marketing research over the past decade. The findings of these studies are organized into three perspectives: the effects of perceived crowding on consumers’ cognition and emotion, the effects of perceived crowding on consumers’ utilitarian and value-expressive behaviors, and perceived crowding as a cue for inference. The review confirmed that studies on perceived crowding have been extended from in-store behavior research to consumer information processing and decision making. We also point out three issues for future research: the need for more detailed discussion of crowding as a cue for inference, the limited number of studies that address today’s in-store research and perceived crowding, and the lack of discussion of perceived crowding research through the stages of purchase decision making. This comprehensive review of empirical studies on perceived crowding explain this concept in marketing and summarize findings that are useful for understanding crowded retail environments and consumer behavior.