The effect of social crowding on consumer preference for personalization

Many companies allow consumers to personalize the products they purchase with the belief that consumers like personalization (e.g., engraving one’s name or a personal phrase on a new iPhone). However, consumers may not like personalization under some circumstances. In this research, I identify social crowding as a situational factor influencing consumer preferences for personalization. Consumers experience involuntary social crowding in various situations from living in crowded cities like New York City to shopping in stores during peak times such as Black Friday. Across five studies, I show that for consumers who believe they can form and terminate interpersonal relationships as they wish, when they are in a crowded (vs. uncrowded) environment, they have a higher need to protect their personal space, and therefore, a lower preference for personalize products. My findings suggest that when offering personalized products or services, companies need to pay attention to the influence of social crowding on consumer responses.