O impacto da presença social na Atenção Visual: uma análise das etapas de orientação

Abstract

The Social Presence, that is, the presence of other consumers in the place where the products are chosen, influences the purchasing behavior of consumers. The present work investigates the Social Presence in the shopping environment through Visual Attention. Visual Attention is composed of different stages, and its measurement allows the investigation about the impact that visual and spatial factors have on behavior. The main objective of this work is to analyze the impact of Social Presence on Visual Attention and its stages, in shopping environments. To achieve this goal, we use experiments and natural experiments, where consumers analyze products in front of the shelf. Three studies were promoted to test the relationship between Social Presence and Visual Attention (Studies 1 and 2), and therefore, to test the impact of Social Presence on the different stages of Visual Attention (Study 3). The results obtained prove the existence of a significant relationship between Social Presence and Visual Attention, so that the presence of other consumers increases the attention of the focal consumer, in the shopping environment. In the aspect of the stages of Visual Attention, the same impact was evidenced, both in the initial phase of visualization and in the final phase. It was also evident that Visual Attention is greater at the beginning of the product visualization process, considering the different Visual Attention metrics employed and developed. In this way, the present work contributes to the academy with the advancement of studies in the area of consumer behavior, while the use of non-scalar metrics, collected in loco, within experimental models, allows new investigations applied to different contexts and factors that influence the consumer. Furthermore, the research of this work offers valid results also for practitioners in the area, allowing the manipulation of environments and situations of purchase according to the intended marketing format.