Too crowded to be adventurous: the effect of social crowding on consumer switching behavior

Introduction Global urbanization has inevitably increased the density of individuals in public spaces, exerting considerable influence on marketing strategies and consumers. Despite expanding research on how consumers are influenced by social crowding, consensus among researchers remains elusive. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, this research investigates how social crowding affects consumer switching behavior. Methods Across five studies, including a quasi-experimental field study, we examine the effect of social crowding on switching intentions and test risk aversion motivation as an explanatory pathway, as well as shared consumption and crowding aversiveness as boundary conditions. Results Social crowding significantly decreases switching intentions, with η 2 ranging from 0.03 to 0.16. Mediation analyses provide evidence consistent with risk aversion motivation as an explanatory pathway. Importantly, this effect disappears when consumers engage in shared consumption or when the crowding is non-aversive. Discussion These findings offer a resource-based interpretation of consumer responses to crowding. From the COR perspective, maintaining familiar choices may serve a protective function when crowding is appraised as a threat to valued resources. Practically, managers can mitigate the negative effect of crowding on switching behavior by encouraging shared consumption and providing risk-reducing cues.