Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

Understanding perceived retail crowding: A critical review

and research agenda
Ritu Mehta n
Marketing Group, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Joka, D.H. Road, Kolkata 700104, India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Perceived retail crowding is an important, but under-researched construct in marketing research. It has
Received 17 March 2013 been found to inuence a number of retail outcomes. However, the limited empirical studies in this area
Received in revised form have not just produced seemingly contradictory results, but have also used different conceptualizations
7 June 2013
of the construct. This paper provides an explanation of the construct of perceived retail crowding and
Accepted 7 June 2013
Available online 1 July 2013
reviews the empirical studies in the area so as to integrate the knowledge that may help in
understanding of consumer behavior in crowded retail settings. The paper also presents directions for
Keywords: future research and managerial implications.
Perceived crowding & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Store atmospherics
Empirical research
Emotions
Evaluations
Consumer behavior

1. Introduction been reported that try to explore the phenomenon of perceived

Perceived retail crowding, also termed as perceived crowding
or crowding in the literature on retailing is an important element
of store atmospherics (Baker, 1986; Turley and Milliman, 2000). It
has attracted attention under social factor or human variable of
store atmospherics (Turley and Milliman, 2000). It has been shown
to inuence a number of retail outcomes such as consumers'
satisfaction (Eroglu et al., 2005; Machleit et al., 2000), attitude
towards the store (Mehta et al., 2012; Pan and Siemens, 2011), and
behavioral responses (Hui and Bateson, 1991; Pan and Siemens,
2011), to name but a few. Aylott and Mitchell (1998) identied
crowding and queuing, a function of crowding, as the two major
stressors for grocery shopping.
The fact that many retailers use a number of strategies for
crowd management implies that they too acknowledge the fact
that consumers' perceptions of crowding can inuence their
behavior. Designing the layout of the retail space, specic place-
ment of different products, deciding on the number of sales-
support personnel and check-out counters are some of the ways
adopted by retailers to control the level of consumers' perceived
crowding
Harrell and Hutt (1976) introduced the concept of perceived
crowding in the retailing literature. Since then many studies have
n
Tel.: +91 33 2467 8300; fax: +91 33 2467 8307.
E-mail address: ritumehta@iimcal.ac.in
crowding and understand its effects in the retail environment.
These studies, however, lack consistency on the use of the term,
the conceptualization of the construct, and seem to have produced
contradictory results. Lam (2001) and Turley and Milliman (2000)
provide a review of the effects of various atmospheric variables,
including crowding, on shopping behavior. More than a decade
has passed since these two reviews got published, and issues in
the area of retail crowding have advanced considerably.
The recent developments in the retail space also call for
renewed attention in the area of retail crowding. There has been
a growth in the number of shoppers and consumption especially
from the emerging economies. Globally, retailers are expanding
their businesses in emerging markets to avail the opportunities
arising from the growing middle class and the rising disposable
incomes in these regions. These developments have led to greater
importance to the issue of retail crowding. Another interesting
development during the last decade is the proliferation of social
media and online retailing. This phenomenon could imply that
consumers feel lonelier now and consumers' preferred level of
crowding might have changed over the period. All these reasons
stimulated this study and provided motivation to comprehensively
review the research in crowding till date.
This paper aims at achieving the following objectives: (1) pro-
viding a conceptual clarication of the construct of perceived retail
crowding, (2) synthesizing the ndings and methodologies of
more than three decades of empirical investigation in the area of
crowding in the marketing literature, and delineate the possible

0969-6989/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2013.06.002
 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
sources of discrepancy in the ndings, (3) identifying possible
avenues for future research. Thus, the paper will serve as a
comprehensive source of information for researchers as well as
marketers who are interested in understanding consumer beha-
vior in crowded retail environments.
The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. First, the
paper discusses the conceptual background of perceived retail
crowding and differentiates between the terminologies of per-
ceived crowding, perceived density, and density that are some-
times used interchangeably in crowding literature. Subsequently,
based on the literature review, it discusses the ndings and
comments on the methods adopted in the empirical studies on
perceived retail crowding. Finally, it draws implications for future
research as well as practice.
2. Perceived retail crowding: the evolution of the concept and
conceptual clarication
Perceived crowding in the retailing literature attracted atten-
tion from researchers in the 1970s when super stores and shop-
ping centers became increasingly popular. The rise in the number
of recreational shoppers during that period (Bellenger et al., 1977),
along with growing number of working women having limited
shopping hours, and cluttered merchandising in stores contributed
to the need for inquiry into the concept of crowding in retail
settings (Harrell and Hutt, 1976).
Prior to the introduction of the concept of crowding in retailing
literature, several theories from environmental psychology and social
psychology provide insights into the phenomenon of crowding.
2.1. Theories to explain the phenomenon of crowding
The stimulus overload theory suggests that crowding is experi-
enced when environmental stimulation exceeds one's capacity to
cope (Desor, 1972; Milgram, 1970). This theory emphasizes on
cognitive overload associated with high density. Interference
theories suggest that crowding is a result of dysfunctionally dense
environment (Stokols et al., 1973; Sundstrom, 1975). When the
level of density interferes with an individual's activities and
achievement of goal, crowding is experienced. Control model
attributes crowded feeling to loss of perceived control in high-
density conditions (Sherrod, 1974). This loss of control can be due
to excessive unwanted interactions or lack of behavioral freedom
in the environment. Social intrusion perspective views invasion of
privacy as the cause of feeling crowded (Altman, 1975). Thus, the
construct of crowding is generally associated with negative eva-
luation of too many people in the same environment. Whether
these effects are salient or not depends on a number of personal,
situational, and social variables (Stokols, 1972).
The above stated approaches help to explain the phenomenon
of crowding in the context of retail settings.
2.2. Conceptual clarication: density, perceived density,
perceived crowding
Most of the empirical work on crowding in retail settings
makes use of three interrelated terms of density, perceived
density, and perceived crowding. These terms have been used
interchangeably in many of these studies, but it is important to
differentiate between these concepts. These concepts have been
derived from literature in psychology (Rapoport, 1975; Stokols,
1972). Stokols (1972) contended that while density is a physical
state involving spatial limitation, crowding is an experiential
state that refers to the restrictive nature of the limited space as
perceived by the individuals. Crowding is experienced when
643
restrictive aspects of spatial limitation become prominent and
aversive. McGrew (1970) suggested that there are two types of
density: social and spatial. Social density refers to the actual
number of people in a given space and spatial density refers to
the amount of space per person. Rapoport (1975) used the term
perceived density to refer to the subjective estimate of the number
of people, the space available, and the organization of the space.
He termed perceived crowding as the subjective experience of
certain density levels. Thus, density is an objective measure,
perceived density is subjective and neutral as it does not have
any positive or negative connotation, while perceived crowding is
subjective and evaluative in nature.
The above discussion leads us to adopt the following deni-
tions on the three constructs for the purpose of this article.
Density is a function of number of individuals and amount of
space available. One can examine human density by varying the
actual number of individuals keeping the retail space constant, or
look at spatial density by varying the space available through the
amount and placement of objects and merchandise keeping the
number of individuals constant. There is only one study (Harrell
et al., 1980) that uses the construct of density and uses actual
number of shoppers in the store as a measure of density. Alter-
native ways to capture shopper density are number of transactions
in a given duration, sales in a given duration, or actual waiting
time at the checkout counter (Harrell and Hutt, 1976).
Perceived density is the respondents' assessment on the
number of shoppers (termed as perceived human density) or
space available to the shoppers (termed as perceived spatial
density). The human and spatial aspects of perceived density can
be captured using statements on respondents' assessment about
absolute number of people in the store or number of people per
unit area, and amount of space available per person, respectively
(Hui and Bateson, 1991; Machleit et al., 2000).
The third construct, most frequently used in the literature on
retail crowding, perceived crowding is a consumer's evaluative
assessment of the restrictive aspects of the retail space. It is a
complicated construct because the same density or perceived
density level may or may not result in same discomfort for all
individuals. A person can feel crowded even in a less dense store
and vice versa. It depends on a number of factors, including
personal (Machleit et al., 2000), situational (Eroglu and Machleit,
1990; Machleit et al., 2000), and cultural variables (Pons et al.,
2006; Pons and Laroche, 2007). There has also been an issue with
the dimensionality of the construct of perceived crowding with
some researchers treating it as a unidimensional construct (Eroglu
and Machleit, 1990; Hui and Bateson, 1991), while others as a two-
dimensional construct (Eroglu et al., 2005; Harrell et al., 1980;
Machleit et al., 1994; Machleit et al., 2000). Machleit et al. (1994)
through a series of laboratory experiment and eld studies
identied two dimensions of perceived retail crowding: human
and spatial dimensions. The two-dimensional approach is consis-
tent with the environmental psychology literature that suggests
two types of density: spatial and social density (McGrew, 1970) as
discussed earlier in the section. Many of the subsequent studies on
retail crowding recognize the importance to distinguish between
the two dimensions (Eroglu et al., 2005; Machleit et al., 2000, Pan
and Siemens, 2011). The operationalization of the two dimensions
is discussed next.
2.3. Operationalization of perceived retail crowding
Harrell et al. (1980) developed a six-item, seven-point semantic
differential scale based on the literature on crowding from
different disciplines. The scale items were: too many shoppers
too few shoppers, restricts movementallows free movement, can
move at my own pacemust move at a pace set by others,
644 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
crowdeduncrowded, spaciousconned, gives an open feeling
gives a closed feeling. The study by Machleit et al. (1994) devel-
oped and validated an alternative seven-point Likert scale with a
few more items added to the Harrell et al. (1980) scale and based
on content validity, recommend the use of two-dimensional Likert
scale over the semantic differential scale. The items on perceived
spatial crowing include the following three items: the store
seemed very spacious, I felt cramped shopping in the store, the
store felt conning to shoppers. The items on perceived human
crowding include the following four items: the store seemed very
crowded to me, the store was a little too busy, there was not much
trafc in the store, and there were a lot of shoppers in the store.
Subsequent studies have adopted or adapted the items from these
two scales or have added a few items based on the literature in the
area of crowding. The next section provides a comprehensive
literature review of retail crowding.
3. Review of empirical studies on perceived retail crowding
The following section reviews empirical studies on perceived
retail crowding right from the introduction of the concept in 1976
to 2012. These studies are from marketing and services journals
including Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer
Research, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Psychology,
Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of
Marketing Management, Marketing Letters, Journal of Services
Marketing, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and
The Service Industries Journal. To be included in the review, the
studies had to meet the following criteria: (1) perceived retail
crowding being the dominant subject in the study, (2) the article
to have appeared in a peer-reviewed journal, and (3) empirical
studies with quantitative research approach were considered.
Table 1 provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on
perceived retail crowding. On the basis of the literature review,
this section discusses the ndings and the methodological
approaches used in different studies, and identies possible
reasons for the inconsistent ndings of the previous research.
3.1. Findings of the empirical studies on perceived retail crowding
The earlier studies focus both on the antecedents and con-
sequences of perceived retail crowding, while the latter studies
focus mainly on its consequences.
3.1.1. Antecedents of perceived retail crowding
Earlier studies demonstrate that perceived retail crowding
increases with shopper density (Harrell et al., 1980) and perceived
density (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990). Spatial as well as human
density perceptions affect both spatial and human crowding
perceptions (Machleit et al., 2000). However, there are other
variables that mediate or moderate the relationship between
perceived density and perceived crowding. Perceived density
affects perceived crowding directly as well as indirectly through
perceived control (Hui and Bateson, 1991). Factors such as task
orientation, perceived risk, and time pressure were found to affect
crowding perceptions under high-density conditions (Eroglu and
Machleit, 1990). Gender differences were found with men report-
ing higher crowding perceptions than women under high-density
conditions (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990). Culture inuences per-
ceived crowding with a dense shopping situation triggering higher
perceived crowding for Canadian consumers than for Mexicans
(Pons and Laroche, 2007).
3.1.2. Consequences of perceived retail crowding
There are emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences of
perceived retail crowding as discussed in the following sub-
sections.
3.1.2.1. Perceived crowding, emotions, and satisfaction. So far as the
consequences of perceived retail crowding are considered, most of
the empirical studies investigate the impact of perceived crowding
on consumers' satisfaction. Past studies have consistently produced
negative effects of spatial crowding perceptions on satisfaction
(Eroglu et al., 2005; Li et al., 2009; Machleit et al., 2000). However,
the effects of human crowding perceptions have produced mixed
results. Some studies report negative effects of perceived human
crowding on shopping satisfaction (Machleit et al., 1994; Machleit
et al., 2000), while a few others report positive effects (Eroglu et al.,
2005; Li et al., 2009; Pons et al., 2006). The relationship between
perceived crowding and shopping satisfaction is affected by a
number of mediating and moderating variables. Emotions mediate
the effect of crowding on shopping satisfaction (Eroglu et al., 2005; Li
et al., 2009; Machleit et al., 2000). Factors such as expectations of
crowding, personal tolerance for crowding, and store type moderate
the crowdingsatisfaction relationship (Machleit et al., 2000).
Shopper satisfaction was higher when perceived crowding is
short of or meets crowding expectations, and lower when
perceived crowding exceeds expectations. For individuals with high
tolerance of crowding, human crowding did not signicantly affect
shopping satisfaction as it did for those with a low tolerance level for
crowding. For discount stores, relationship between human
crowding and satisfaction was non-signicant. Pons and Laroche
(2007) demonstrated that culture moderates the density-satisfaction
relationship. A comparison of consumers' reactions to crowd in two
different countries (Canada and Mexico) suggested that high density
affected Mexicans less negatively than their Canadian counterparts.
Gender was not found to signicantly affect emotions (Mehta et al.,
2012) or shopping satisfaction (Machleit et al., 2000), though a
pattern of stronger negative effects of crowding on satisfaction was
observed for females than for males (Machleit et al., 2000). Store-
familiarity too was not found to affect crowding-satisfaction
relationship (Machleit et al., 2000; Mehta et al., 2012). Negative
(Eroglu and Machleit, 1990) as well as non-signicant effects have
been reported for interaction of time-pressure and crowding on
satisfaction (Machleit et al., 2000).
The effect of perceived crowding on emotions was found to be
curvilinear in a recent study by Mehta et al. (2012) and the effects
were moderated by shoppers' optimal stimulation level with the
effect being stronger for individuals with high optimal stimulation
level than for individuals with low optimal stimulation level.
3.1.2.2. Perceived crowding and evaluations. The effect of perceived
crowding on store attitudes and evaluations were found to be
curvilinear in more recent studies. Medium level of crowding was
associated with more favorable store attitudes (Pan and Siemens,
2011) and merchandise evaluations (Mehta et al., 2012). Store
attitudes were assessed through impressions about the store at an
aggregate level (unfavorable/favorable, bad/good, unlikable/
likable). Merchandise evaluations were based on perceptions of
merchandise quality (low/high), style (outdated/up-to-date), and
selection (in-adequate/adequate). In the context of restaurant,
Tse et al. (2002) found that the level of perceived crowding is
positively associated with high-quality food, low price, and good
reputation of the restaurant. Similarly, Pan and Siemens (2011)
found linear effects of perceived crowding on store attitudes in
case of service setting (salon), but an inverted U-shaped trend for
individuals who were pressed for time. In the context of services,
Giebelhausen et al. (2011) demonstrated that in situations where
 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649 645

Table 1
Summary table of past studies on perceived retail crowding.

Study Sample Setting Method Independent Dependent variables Main ndings

Variables

Harrell et al. (1980) 600 shoppers Supermarket Field study Shopper density Perceived crowding, Retail density positively affects crowding
adaptation strategies, perceptions. Perceived crowding
outcomes negatively affects satisfaction. Task
orientation, perceived risk, and time
pressure, intensify crowding perceptions
under high-density conditions.
Eroglu and 112 adults Mall Laboratory Perceived retail Perceived crowding, Retail density positively affects crowding
Machleit (1990) experiment: slides density, motive, time shoppers' satisfaction perceptions. Perceived crowding
constraint, perceived with the retail negatively affects satisfaction. Task
risk, shopping environment orientation, perceived risk, and time
motives, gender pressure, intensify crowding perceptions
under high-density conditions.
Hui and Bateson 115 adults between Bank, bar Laboratory Perceived consumer Perceived control, Perceived control mediates the effects of
(1991) the age 25 and 40 experiment: slides density, choice, perceived crowding, consumer density and consumer choice
service setting pleasure, approach- on pleasantness and behavior.
avoidance
Machleit et al. 76 students, 140 Bookstore, Laboratory Dimensionality of Satisfaction Perceived crowding has two distinct
(1994) bookstore shoppers grocery store, experiment: perceived crowding, human and spatial dimensions that affect
(mainly students), discount store videotapes, eld crowding expectation satisfaction differently. The effect of
232 store shoppers studies human crowding on satisfaction is
moderated by expected level of crowding.
Machleit et al. 722 students (eld Variety of stores Field studies with Perceived crowding, Emotions, satisfaction Perceived crowding negatively affects
(2000) study), 153 non- like mall, take-home expectation about shopping satisfaction. Emotions mediate
students, 231 department, questionnaire, crowding, store-type, the crowding-satisfaction relationship.
students (lab study) grocery store laboratory personal tolerance, Expectation, store-type, and personal
etc. experiment: gender tolerance moderate the crowding-
videotapes satisfaction relationship.
Tse et al. (2002) 300 adults Restaurant Laboratory Perceived crowding Food quality, food Perceived crowding is associated with
experiment: pictures price, reputation of high food quality, low food price, and
restaurant good reputation of the restaurant.
Eroglu et al. (2005) 153 adults, 296 Variety of stores Field studies with Perceived crowding Emotions, shopping Perceived crowding affects shopping
students like grocery take-home value, and value via emotions. Emotions and
department, questionnaire satisfaction shopping value completely mediate the
hypermart, mall spatial crowding-satisfaction relationship.
etc. However, for human crowding there
exists a positive direct effect on shopping
satisfaction.
Pons et al. (2006) Canadian Disco Laboratory Perceived density, Affective evaluation, The density manifestations produce
undergraduates and experiment: personal space, satisfaction positive responses from consumers in
244 Lebanese videotapes privacy, territoriality, crowded hedonic service. Culture affects
undergraduates freedom of perceptions of density manifestations and
movement moderates consumers reactions to a
crowded retail environment.
Pons and Laroche 861 Canadian Bookstore Laboratory Perceived density, Perceived crowding, Consumers perceive and react to crowded
(2007) undergraduates, 862 experiment: density expectation, affective evaluation, situations differently, depending on their
Mexican videotapes culture shopping satisfaction culture. Expectations affect the way
undergraduates consumers evaluate crowded settings.
Mattila and Wirtz 138 shoppers Variety of Field study Perceived crowding, Impulse buying Perceived crowding and employee
(2008) outlets like environmental assistance jointly affect impulse buying.
book and music stimulation, Over stimulation has a positive effect on
store, cosmetics, employee assistance impulse purchases.
clothing store
Li et al. (2009) 554 shoppers Hypermarket Field study Perceived crowding Emotions, Perceived human crowding positively
satisfaction, impacted emotions, while perceived
behavioral outcomes spatial crowding negatively affected
emotions. Retail crowding affects
shopping behaviors through emotions
and satisfaction.
Pan and Siemens 270 undergraduates, Clothing store, Laboratory Perceived crowding, Store attitude, Perceived crowding exhibits an inverted
(2011) 403 faculty, staff and salon experiments: time pressure behavioral intentions U-shaped relationship with shoppers'
students photographs store attitudes and behavioral intentions
in a goods setting. The relationship is
linear in a service setting except under
high pressure.
Mehta et al. (2012) 201 adult shoppers Hypermarket Field study Perceived crowding, Emotions, The effects of perceived crowding on
optimal stimulation evaluations, patronage intention is curvilinear and is
level patronage intention mediated by pleasure and store-
evaluation. The effects of perceived
crowding on emotions and evaluations
appear to be moderated by optimal
stimulation level.

quality is important or wherein the customer is not familiar with 3.1.2.3. Perceived crowding and shopping value assessment. Perceived
the service provider, perceived wait manipulated through the retail crowding negatively affects shopping values and the effects
presence of a crowd increases perceived quality. appear to be moderated by factors such as personal tolerance for
646 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
crowding, time spent shopping, shopping intention, and whether
purchase was made (Eroglu et al., 2005). For individuals with low
tolerance for crowding, and with purchase-directed intention of visit,
there were strong effects of human crowding perceptions on both
utilitarian and hedonic types of shopping value. For those who spent
less than an hour in the store, there were strong negative correlations
between human and spatial crowding perceptions and both the
types of shopping values. Adaptability to the high-density stimuli
was possibly at play for individuals who spent more time in the store.
The effect of perceived crowding on shopping value is mediated by
emotions experienced by the shopper. The emotions and shopping
value reactions, in turn, completely or partially mediate the effects of
spatial and human crowding perceptions on satisfaction respectively
(Eroglu et al., 2005).
3.1.2.4. Perceived crowding, coping, and behavioral responses. Perceived
crowding also affects consumers' shopping behavior and behavioral
intentions. Shoppers may use a number of adaptation strategies such
as adjustment in shopping time and deviation from shopping plan to
cope with perceived crowding (Harrell et al., 1980). Mattila and Wirtz
(2008) found that employee assistance could reduce the negative
effects of perceived human crowding on unplanned purchases.
Perceived human crowding also affects consumers' store patronage
intentions, but the relationship follows an inverted U-shaped trend
(Mehta et al., 2012, Pan and Siemens, 2011). Consumers' emotional
dimension of pleasure, and store evaluation mediate these effects
(Mehta et al., 2012). The effect of crowding on behavioral intentions
like entering the store and recommending the store for a service
setting was not found to be inverted U-shaped, but linear except
under conditions of time pressure (Pan and Siemens, 2011).
3.1.3. Summary of the ndings
To summarize, the perceptions of human and spatial densities
affect both the dimensions of consumers' perceived crowding.
Individual variables like personal tolerance for crowding and situa-
tional variables such as task orientation, perceived risk, and time
pressure may affect perceived crowding levels. Giving some control
to the consumers can minimize the experience of crowding and its
negative effects. Consumers' emotions, cognitive evaluations of the
store, shopping value, and coping mechanisms seem to mediate the
effects of perceived crowding on retail outcomes.
The differential effects of perceived human crowding observed in
the empirical studies might be explained in the context of choice of
the retail setting. For instance, negative effects of crowding are more
prominent in utilitarian settings such as grocery stores (Machleit et al.,
1994), book stores (Pons and Laroche, 2007), and banks (Hui and
Bateson, 1991). Crowded hedonic settings like discos (Pons et al., 2006)
and restaurants (Tse et al., 2002) have produced positive responses
from consumers. In neutral settings, the effects were found to be
inverted U-shaped (Mehta et al., 2012). A possible explanation for the
positive effects of human crowding found in the study by Eroglu et al.
(2005) wherein respondents report their responses after their visit to
any of the retail outlets like grocery, hypermarket, or departmental
stores could be due to overall moderate level of perceived crowding at
the time the respondents chose to visit these stores.
The effects of perceived crowding also appear to be contingent
on several other factors as expectations of crowding, personal
tolerance for crowding, individual's optimal stimulation level,
store-type, time spent in the store, and shopping intention.
Gender has produced non-signicant, or at best inconclusive
moderating effects on consumer responses. Interactive effects of
time pressure and crowding are mixed with some studies report-
ing non-signicant effects (Machleit et al., 2000) and others
negative effects (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990; Machleit et al.,
2000) in retail store setting. Interestingly, the same study by
Machleit et al. (2000) reports non-signicant effects with the
student sample, and signicant effects with non-student sample.
Possible reasons for this conicting nding could be the con-
founding variables not accounted for, such as tolerance for
crowding and expectation of crowding.
3.1.4. Managerial implications of the ndings
Research indicates that perceived crowding is an important yet a
difcult variable to control for managers. It presents a challenge for
retailers as to how to maximize density without triggering the
negative effects of perceived crowding (Harrell and Hutt, 1976;
Harrell et al., 1980). Managers should anticipate crowd levels and
consumers shopping patterns under different levels of crowding.
Accordingly they should make arrangements and devise their product
and promotion strategies (Harrell et al., 1980). Designing architectural
features of the store and the store environment can help alleviate
feeling of crowding (Eroglu and Machleit, 1990). For example, adjust-
ments in store atmospheric variables like music and temperature can
help reduce feeling of human crowding. Likewise, arrangement of
merchandise and layout of the store can mitigate the feeling of spatial
crowding (Machleit et al., 1994). Retailers can have extra staff and
extra check-out counters to handle the large number of shoppers
during peak shopping times (Machleit et al., 2000; Mehta et al., 2012).
Since the negative effects of high consumer density can be minimized
by providing some control to the consumers, retailers can provide
information, a form of cognitive control, to shoppers as to the length
of the queue so that they are prepared for the wait (Hui and Bateson,
1991). Similarly, designing the store so that shoppers have a choice to
move around and alter their directions if needed, would provide them
behavioral control to mitigate the negative consequences of crowding
(Li et al., 2009). Retailers should manage expectations of density to
reduce consumers' dissatisfaction with the shopping experience (Pons
and Laroche, 2007). They should also try to gure out how shoppers
react to the strategies they design to avoid the negative effects of
crowding (Machleit et al., 2000). Since shoppers' reactions to different
levels of crowding vary with culture, international retail organizations
should aim at recognizing and understanding the cultural differences
in assessment and dealing of crowded retail settings (Pons et al.,
2006; Pons and Laroche, 2007). Managers should have a dynamic
approach to crowd management so that they are able to maintain the
optimal level of crowding for their stores (Mehta et al., 2012).
3.2. Perceived retail crowding and waiting research1
The previous section presented ndings of studies with per-
ceived retail crowding as the primary focus of the study. Since
crowding is related to wait expectation and waiting time, this
section establishes the link between crowding literature and
waiting time literature.
Grewal et al. (2003) demonstrated that higher perceived
consumer density leads to longer wait perception that negatively
affects evaluation of the store's atmosphere and patronage inten-
tion in a service-intensive store setting. Prior research in waiting
literature too reports negative effects of waiting time on affective
reactions and evaluations (Dube-Rioux et al., 1989; Taylor, 1994).
Moreover, earlier studies suggest waiting to be associated with
economic (time and effort) and psychological (stress) cost (Baker
et al., 2002; Osuna, 1985).
A recent study by Giebelhausen et al. (2011) manipulated
wait by the presence or absence of crowd in different service
settings. The study found that the presence of a wait resulted in
signicantly lower purchase intentions for shoppers with conve-
nience as the primary motivation. However, for shoppers
1
We thank the referee for suggesting to add this issue.
 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
motivated by quality the presence of a wait signicantly increased
purchase intentions. Additionally, after accounting for the mediat-
ing effect of quality perceptions, the effect of wait on purchase
intentions was found to be negative. The study highlights the need
to control for variables such as shopping motivation and perceived
quality in studies on waiting and perceived crowding in order to
capture their true effects. The study also presents evidence that
there might be curvilinear effects (inverted U-shaped) of wait on
shopping outcomes as found in recent studies on crowding (Mehta
et al., 2012; Pan and Siemens, 2011).
3.3. Method of the studies
Research in perceived retail crowding makes use of either or both
of eld and laboratory studies, as seen in Table 1. Field studies have
the advantage of external and ecological validity. But many of the
other environmental elements that can inuence the studies on
perceived crowding are not controlled for, and thus the causal nature
of the relationships is not clear. Laboratory studies use slides or
videotapes to provide a simulated store environment. These studies
may suffer from experiential realism and individuals may not behave
the same in actual retail environments. Bateson and Hui (1992)
demonstrated that slides and videotapes used as environmental
simulation provide ecological validity. Also, experimental design gives
better control over confounding variables. But the disadvantage is that
certain dimensions like temperature, smell, and noise are eliminated
(McClelland and Auslander, 1978). These dimensions go hand in hand
with the number of shoppers and therefore consumer responses may
differ in actual retail setting and laboratory conditions. For example,
Machleit et al. (1994) found in a laboratory simulation that human
crowding has more effect than spatial crowding on store satisfaction.
Contradictorily, the correlation between human crowding and satis-
faction was not found to be signicant in the eld study. The authors
subsequently found that consumers' expectations about the number
of shoppers moderates the relationship between human crowding
and store satisfaction, and since expectation may be missing in the
laboratory conditions it resulted in different ndings on the effects of
human crowding on satisfaction.
The eld and laboratory studies both have been conducted with
student as well as non-student sample. The study by Machleit
et al. (2000) resulted in almost similar responses to perceived
crowding from student and non-student respondents. For the eld
studies, intercept surveys with actual shoppers have been carried
out (Harrell et al., 1980; Li et al., 2009; Machleit et al., 1994, Mehta
et al., 2012) or the respondents were asked to ll out a retro-
spective questionnaire after their next shopping trip (Eroglu et al.,
2005; Machleit et al., 2000). All eld studies, except for Harrell
et al. (1980) have used convenience sampling.
Finally, studies have been conducted in different settings,
ranging from a mall to different types of retail stores such as
grocery stores, departmental stores, and bookstores, as well as
service settings such as banks, salons, and restaurant bar. As
mentioned in the review section, the effects of perceived crowding
have been found to vary with the type of store (Machleit et al.,
2000; Pan and Siemens, 2011), thus the ndings should be
extrapolated to other settings with caution.
4. Conclusions
The empirical studies in this review highlight that perceived
retail crowding is a complex process that results from a combina-
tion of many personal, cultural, situational, and environmental
factors. The studies also underline the innumerable ways in which
perceived crowding can affect consumer behavior and shopping
outcomes in retail settings. In spite of the growth in the literature
647
on perceived retail crowding over the years, there are issues that
still need attention. The implications for research, including
method and practice are presented below.
4.1. Implications for research: issues
There is sufcient evidence for the mediating role of emotions
on the response to perceived retail crowding. However, the gamut
of emotions induced by perceived retail crowding is still not clear.
Most studies make use of the pleasure and arousal dimensions
of Mehrabian and Russell's (1974) PAD (PleasureArousal
Dominance) scale to measure emotions. Machleit and Eroglu
(2000) suggest that the emotional dimension of dominance may
be of critical signicance in studies on crowding where control
over the retail environment is a concern. Yet most studies do not
include the emotional dimension of dominance (e.g., Hui and
Bateson, 1991, Mehta et al., 2012). Other scales, such as PANAS
(Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Watson et al., 1988) may be
used instead of or in addition to the PAD scale.
The effect of perceived crowding on store image has not been
tested sufciently. A few studies investigate the effect of perceived
crowding on store attitude (e.g., Pan and Siemens, 2011) and
evaluations (e.g., Mehta et al., 2012), however these studies have
looked at the overall impression of the store. The effects of
perceived retail crowding on specic attributes such as percep-
tions of service-quality and price range, and discount or exclusive
image of the store have not been studied. We anticipate that
perceived retail crowding should be negatively related to service-
quality, price perceptions, and exclusive store-image.
Additional research is necessary to unravel the mechanisms
consumers use to cope with the negative effects of perceived retail
crowding and the precise role of coping mechanism in the
relationship between perceived crowding and retail outcomes.
For example, Harrell et al. (1980) found that certain coping
mechanisms like deviation from planned shopping time mediate
the effects of perceived crowding on satisfaction. However, such a
deviation may not always be possible, especially with growing
working class of population. Thus, it would be interesting to know
about other coping measures frequently undertaken, whether
there is an alteration in behavior with other shoppers, and
whether these have immediate effects or have long term implica-
tions as on consumers' store-loyalty and patronage intentions.
The interactive effects of perceived density and other atmo-
spheric variables on perceived crowding and shopper responses
have received little attention. Extant research suggests that con-
gruency of different environmental stimuli affects consumers'
responses. For instance, Mattila and Wirtz (2001) demonstrated
that congruency between ambient scent and music in terms of
their arousing qualities results in enhanced perceptions of the
store environment. Spangenberg et al. (2006) found that consu-
mers' evaluations in a Christmas shopping context are more
favorable when the Christmas scent is in the presence of Christmas
music. Likewise, perceived crowding may interact with other
atmospheric variables to inuence congruency and thereby con-
sumer responses. Baker et al. (1994) found that classical music,
soft lighting, and green/peach color scheme are associated with
prestige-image store environment. It would be interesting to see
how these prestige-image store elements interact with perceived
crowding, i.e., whether they help in alleviating the negative
connotations associated with an overcrowded store such as low-
quality merchandise (Mehta et al., 2012) or whether they lower
the evaluations of the overall prestige-image store environment.
The effects of demographic variables and personality traits have
not been sufciently explored in the context of retail crowding. An
individual's optimal stimulation level (OSL) was found to moderate
the effects of perceived human crowding (Mehta et al., 2012). Studies
648 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
have shown that gender, age, education, and employment status are
correlated with OSL (Raju, 1980, Zuckerman et al., 1978)
Studies have also demonstrated that crowding affects task perfor-
mance of extraverts signicantly more than that of introverts (Khew
and Brebner, 1985). Thus, demographic and personality variables can
play an important role in retail crowding research.
Studies in environmental psychology suggest that the architec-
ture of a space can result in feeling of invasion of personal space.
For example, lowered ceiling height (Savinar, 1975) and reduction
in lighting (Adams and Zuckerman, 1991) can cause an increase in
personal space requirements. Thus, it would be interesting to test
the effects of different architectural designs on perceived crowding
and shopping behavior.
Perceived retail crowding may result in waiting time as
discussed earlier. We briey investigate the links between the
two issues in Section 3.2, but there is a need to integrate the
ndings further. Also, since crowding implies greater exposure to
other shoppers present in the same environment, crowded envir-
onments are likely to boost customer-to-customer effects that
exist in the social inuence research. For instance, Argo et al.
(2008) found that the attractiveness of other shoppers and their
gender affects evaluations of touched products. Thakor et al.
(2008) found that young consumers' evaluation of the service
was negatively affected in the presence of older consumers. Thus,
the role of other shoppers in inuencing consumptions needs to
be further investigated in crowded retail settings.
4.2. Implications for research: method
Field experiments have not been conducted in the existing
studies on perceived retail crowding. Field experiments that would
allow manipulation of the level of perceived crowding through
control over number of shoppers or arrangement of merchandise
can be especially useful for studies on crowding. Thereby partici-
pants' emotions and behaviors can be captured more naturally.
However eld experiments can be more expensive and more time-
consuming than laboratory experiments. Also control over the
environment may be difcult. One important reason for this is the
researcher's ability to control and manipulate conditions shown in
pictures such as height and size of space, details in drawings, an
elimination of other environmental features.
There is some concern with having a homogenous sample as
that of students in studies on crowding as they may exhibit similar
responsiveness to crowding and bias the results. Therefore, it may
be a good idea to supplement the results obtained from student
sample with a more representative group of respondents that
takes into account the age factor.
The eld studies make use of a single survey to measure all
variables, including the independent, dependent, mediating, and/or
moderating variables. A common problem with this type of a design is
common method variance that may cause systematic measurement
error and inate or deate observed relationships between con-
structs. When using such a design, common method variance should
be assessed and accounted for, in case there are biases. The results of
eld studies may also suffer from self-selection bias because of the
use of convenience sampling. Random sampling may be used to
improve the generalizability of the results. Another issue with eld
studies using store-intercept surveys is the timing of the intercept.
Some studies conduct it before the respondents enter the check stand
(e.g., Mehta et al., 2012) while a few others carry it out as the
consumers exit the store (e.g., Machleit et al., 1994, Mattila and Wirtz,
2008). When data is collected at the point of exit, the responses to
perceived crowding can be mingled with other experiences such as
the time one had to spend at the check-out counter, and therefore,
should be avoided. Moreover, a concern with retrospective surveys is
that the results may be distorted because of reliance on memory
about the shopping episode (Barrett and Barrett, 2001).
Empirical studies on perceived retail crowding should also
ensure that there is enough variability in the independent variable
before concluding for linear or curvilinear effects. If the entire
range of the variable is not represented, one might nd a linear
relationship simply because of range restriction.
Observational method can also be used to enrich the under-
standing of consumer behavior in crowded environments. For
example, one can make note of the number of items examined,
time spent viewing the items, shoppers' reliance on pre-planned
list of items to be purchased, and the kind of interactions
customers have with each other or the sales staff. One can also
examine the path undertaken under crowded situationsdo
shoppers get attracted to crowds and exhibit bandwagon effect
or do they prefer to avoid it.
4.3. Implications for practice
Perceived crowding in retail settings, both human and spatial, can
inuence consumer behaviors. Since the optimal level of crowding
that maximizes positive shopping outcomes may vary with the store-
type, managers should try to gure out the optimal level for their
stores. Adjusting the timing of promotions, and extending the
operating hours of the store on weekends can help to shift crowds
from peak to non-peak hours. Managers can primarily control
perceived spatial crowding by concentrating on store design and
layout. For instance, ceiling height should be considered while
designing the store. Similarly, placement and arrangement of racks,
merchandise, and displays can also be worked upon to eliminate the
feelings of over-crowdedness in the stores. Managers can also take the
help of other atmospheric cues such as choice of store color and
brightness of light to alleviate the negative effects of perceived
crowding. Managers should also help consumers to cope with
crowding. Playing music, dispersing the right kind of scent, adjusting
the temperature of the store, providing seating arrangement, and
having play zone for kids are some of the measures that can help to
ease out the stress resulting from feeling of crowdedness. The
dispersed placement of various items on promotions and strategically
installing televisions can also help to spread out the crowds.
Disney is a good example of crowd management (Borrie, 1999).
Visual magnets, such as castles, are placed at the end of thorough-
fares to motivate customers to keep moving on. Disney characters
move in different directions to scatter the crowds. Disney arranges
shows and parades during busy seasons as an additional attraction
to disperse the crowds, and as a compensation for the busy
conditions. It also adjusts the operating hours of the parks
depending on the anticipated crowd levels. The parks generally
open earlier and stay open for longer hours during those times of
the year when it witnesses huge number of visitors than when
there is a modest level of crowd.
Cross-cultural studies on perceived retail crowding have estab-
lished that different cultures perceive and react to crowded environ-
ments differently. Depending on the expectations of appropriate
distance for communication and interactions between strangers
within different cultures, the same space can produce different
reactions from customers. Multi-national retailers should keep these
cultural differences in mind so as to design their stores to meet the
customers' expectations.
Acknowledgments
We thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for provid-
ing valuable comments and suggestions on this paper.
 R. Mehta / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 642649
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