Presentation Schedule
Closer Is Better? How Product Proximity and Similarity Shape Purchase Decisions in Print Advertisements (104188)
Tuesday, 24 March 2026 16:00
Session: Poster Session 3
Room: Orion Hall (5F)
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Print advertisements, as essential tools of marketing communication, must capture consumers’ attention while delivering clear and persuasive messages. Designers frequently apply the Gestalt principles of proximity and similarity to structure visual layouts and organize product information. However, limited research has examined how these two principles interact to influence consumers’ ability to compare products and make purchase decisions. This research investigates how proximity (close vs. distant) and similarity (same-category vs. cross-category products) affect perceived product alignability and purchase decisions, and how the concreteness of product series names (concrete vs. abstract) moderates these effects. Across three experimental studies, the results demonstrate that when no series name is provided, displaying same-category products at a close distance enhances perceived alignability and facilitates purchase decisions. When a product series name is included, pairing a concrete name with a close arrangement for same-category products, and an abstract name with a distant arrangement for cross-category products, strengthens perceived alignability. Moreover, perceived alignability mediates the joint effects of layout and naming on consumers’ purchase decisions. By integrating Gestalt principles with naming concreteness, this study deepens understanding of how visual and verbal cues jointly shape consumers’ comparative processing and decision making. The findings contribute to theories of visual communication and consumer decision processes while providing practical guidance for marketers and designers in creating visually coherent and persuasive print advertisements that effectively guide consumer choices.
Authors:
Hsuan-Yi Chou, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan
Yi-Ting Tseng, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan
About the Presenter(s)
Hsuan-Yi Chou is a Professor in the Instititude of Marketing Communication at National Sun Yat-sen University.
See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule
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