Space matters: the effect of product spacing on consumer variety-seeking

Jung Min Jang (), Song Oh Yoon () and Cecile K. Cho ()
Additional contact information
Jung Min Jang: Brunel University of London
Song Oh Yoon: Korea University
Cecile K. Cho: Korea University

Marketing Letters, 2025, vol. 36, issue 4, No 2, 745 pages

Abstract: Abstract Across four studies spanning various product categories and involving both hypothetical and real choices with monetary incentives, we demonstrate that consumers tend to seek greater variety when products are spaced closely together rather than farther apart. This effect arises from shifts in attentional focus: close spacing promotes a holistic view, diverting attention from individual options and leading to less defined preferences. Consequently, consumers rely more on variety-seeking heuristics. We validate this mechanism through product memory tests, preference certainty assessments, and the direct manipulation of participants’ attention. Specifically, participants exposed to closely spaced products better recalled the overall arrangement of the choice set, while those viewing widely spaced products remembered individual options more accurately. Additionally, expressed preferences were less distinct and less predictive of choices in the close- versus wide-spacing condition. Notably, directing attention to individual products mitigated this effect. Our findings offer practical implications for consumers seeking to manage excessive variety-seeking, while providing valuable insights for practitioners on how to strategically use product spacing to influence consumer choices and enhance profitability.

Keywords: Variety-seeking; Product spacing; Consumer attention; Product display; Retail product placement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11002-025-09777-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:36:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11002-025-09777-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... etailsPage=societies

DOI: 10.1007/s11002-025-09777-3

Access Statistics for this article

Marketing Letters is currently edited by Joel Steckel and Peter Golder

More articles in Marketing Letters from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().