The interaction between products search behavior and signage in the store, and cognitive aging.

Abstract

Retail stores have a vast array of products, which are organized by category, with in-store signage in most cases. In-store signage should be beneficial for product search, just like signage in wayfinding and signaling in reading; however, it is also possible that signage can limit the cues people use in product search, mainly if they focus on signage only, making it difficult for them to acquire information and to organize their information by themselves for finding products. As previous research has reported that older adults have difficulties acquiring structured information when using information systems to search for targets using category labels or signage only, the present study examined whether and how in-store signage affects product search behavior in a simulated physical retail store, particularly for older adults. Four products were searched one by one in a simulated drugstore by older and younger adults, while the presentation of signs was manipulated, such as no signage, usual signage, or only signage (focused signage) conditions. The results showed that sign presentation enabled simple inference using in-store signage for both age groups in the first trial. However, when the target products do not match in-store signage, it is observed that sign labels inhibit spontaneously labeling a shelf or flexible inference in product searches. Although the experiment was executed in a simulated retail store with physical space, those findings have implications for labels in virtual information spaces, such as online stores.