Effect of visual crowding in packaging on consumers' buying intention

Abstract

PurposeBased on the construal level theory, the purpose of this study is to prove the effect of interaction between construal level and visual crowding on consumers' buying intention. The study tries to explain the reasons behind the different buying intention toward visual crowding among consumers with different construal level.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted through two situational simulation experiments. The main data analysis methods are ANOVA and bootstrap analysis.Findings(1) the matching of construal level and visual crowding has a significant effect on consumers’ buying intention. (2) Perceptual fluency mediates the interaction between the construal level and visual crowding on buying intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study measures consumers' buying intention through situational experiments but does not measure consumers' buying behavior through real scenarios.Practical implicationsAccording to the study conclusions, consumers prefer visually crowded packaging that matches their construal level. Enterprises should consider the impact of the construal level on the effect of packaging stimulation.Social implicationsThis study enriches the theory related to construal level and highlights the mediating role of perceptual fluency. The addition of perceptual fluency explains the mechanism by which visual crowding affects consumers' buying intention. This extends the research on the antecedents and effects of perceptual fluency.Originality/valueThis study innovatively introduces visual crowding into packaging and matches visual crowding to construal level, explaining why different consumers buy different visually crowded packaging.