Retail research has highlighted how the presence of others can affect consumers' brand evaluations, purchase intentions, and choice behavior. This field study investigated whether the presence (vs. absence) of peers and other consumers, respectively, could influence consumers' propensity to purchase popular brands (i.e., a market leader) within a given product category. Consumers at a supermarket were observed when standing in front of a spice shelf and their choices were analyzed as a function of whether they shopped alone or in the presence of peers versus other consumers. The results revealed that peer presence, but not the mere presence of other consumers, increased consumers' inclination to make popular brand choices, and that this effect was mediated by their stated familiarity with the chosen brand. As such, peer presence seems to increase consumers’ reliance on heuristics and the accessibility of concepts linked to popularity, leading to congruent popular brand choices. Moreover, consumers shopping in the presence of others generally took a longer time before choosing a brand and touched slightly more products in the presence of other consumers. Taken together, these results contribute to theory refinement in social influence from ecologically valid conditions and offer a set of implications for companies, store managers, and people working in the food industry.

零售研究强调了其他人的存在会如何影响消费者的品牌评价，购买意图和选择行为。这项现场研究调查了同龄人和其他消费者的存在（相对于缺失）是否分别会影响消费者购买给定产品类别中流行品牌（即市场领导者）的倾向。在超市的消费者站在香料架前时会观察到他们的情况，并根据他们是单独购物还是与其他消费者同行的情况来分析他们的选择。结果显示，同伴的存在增加了消费者倾向于选择流行品牌的意愿，而不仅仅是其他消费者的存在，而且这种影响是由他们对所选品牌的熟悉程度所介导的。因此，同行的存在似乎增加了消费者对启发式技术和与流行性相关的概念的可及性的依赖性，从而导致流行的品牌选择一致。此外，在其他人面前购物的消费者通常需要更长的时间才能选择品牌，而在其他消费者面前触摸更多产品。综上所述，这些结果有助于从生态上有效的条件改善社会影响力的理论，并为公司，商店经理和食品行业的工作人员提供一系列启示。在其他人面前购物的消费者通常需要更长的时间才能选择品牌，而在其他消费者面前触摸商品的时间略多。综上所述，这些结果有助于从生态上有效的条件改善社会影响力的理论，并为公司，商店经理和食品行业的工作人员提供一系列启示。在其他人面前购物的消费者通常需要更长的时间才能选择品牌，而在其他消费者面前触摸商品的时间略多。综上所述，这些结果有助于从生态上有效的条件改善社会影响力的理论，并为公司，商店经理和食品行业的工作人员提供一系列启示。