Abstract

This study demonstrates that environmental cues about how the same location is represented can change consumer behavior. Specifically, we examine how consumer responses vary depending on how letters and numbers are represented, and we explore under what circumstances these location cues may have a greater impact on consumer behavior. In Study 1, we examined the mediating role of distance perception and seat value perception in the effect of letter and number cues on purchase intention. The results showed that letters, compared to numeric cues, perceive the target alternative as closer and assign a higher value to the target, and that these processes influence purchase intention. Study 2 examined the effect of proximity in moderating the effect of these letter and number cues, and found that the effect of letter and number cues was stronger in situations where the objective distance was harder to judge due to a certain distance than in close proximity conditions. These findings contribute to our understanding of consumers’ psychological responses to letter and number cues and provide practical implications for effective persuasion through environmental cues.