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Retail salespeople's mimicry of customers: Effects on consumer behavior

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  • Jacob, Céline
  • Guéguen, Nicolas
  • Martin, Angélique
  • Boulbry, Gaëlle

Abstract

Developing interpersonal bonds between employees and customers in selling contexts can increase sales and positive perceptions of the employees and the store. Recent studies have found that mimicking the verbal and nonverbal behavior of strangers enhanced their liking for the individual who mimicked them, and influenced helping behavior. An experiment was carried out in a retail setting where four sales clerks were instructed to mimic, or not, some of the verbal expressions and nonverbal behavior of the customers. On their way out, these customers were asked to evaluate the sales clerks and the store. Results showed that mimicry was associated with a higher sales rate, greater compliance to the sales clerk's suggestion during the selling process, and more positive evaluations of both the sales clerks and the store. It was found that these evaluations mediate the relationship between mimicry and customers' behavior. Experiment 2 confirmed the behavioral effect of mimicry when a baseline condition was introduced. These results seem to show that mimicry really helps managers to develop positive relationships between their sellers and their customers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacob, Céline & Guéguen, Nicolas & Martin, Angélique & Boulbry, Gaëlle, 2011. "Retail salespeople's mimicry of customers: Effects on consumer behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 381-388.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:18:y:2011:i:5:p:381-388
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2010.11.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hornik, Jacob, 1992. "Tactile Stimulation and Consumer Response," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(3), pages 449-458, December.
    2. East, Robert & Hammond, Kathy & Lomax, Wendy, 2008. "Measuring the impact of positive and negative word of mouth on brand purchase probability," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 215-224.
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    Cited by:

    1. Katakam, Bharath Shashanka & Bhukya, Ramulu & Bellamkonda, Raja Shekhar & Samala, Nagaraj, 2021. "Longitudinal analysis versus cross-sectional analysis in assessing the factors influencing shoppers’ impulse purchase behavior – Do the store ambience and salesperson interactions really matter?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    2. Argo, Jennifer J. & Dahl, Darren W., 2020. "Social Influence in the Retail Context: A Contemporary Review of the Literature," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 25-39.
    3. Lyn M. Van Swol & Meghann L. Drury-Grogan, 2017. "The Effects of Shared Opinions on Nonverbal Mimicry," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(2), pages 21582440177, May.
    4. Rosenbaum, Mark S. & Russell, Eric M. & Russell-Bennett, Rebekah, 2017. "“I’ll wait for him†: Understanding when female shoppers prefer working with gay male sales associates," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 172-179.
    5. Roggeveen, Anne L. & Grewal, Dhruv & Karsberg, John & Noble, Stephanie M. & Nordfält, Jens & Patrick, Vanessa M. & Schweiger, Elisa & Soysal, Gonca & Dillard, Annemarie & Cooper, Nora & Olson, Richard, 2021. "Forging meaningful consumer-brand relationships through creative merchandise offerings and innovative merchandising strategies," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 81-98.
    6. Fergus G Neville & John Drury & Stephen D Reicher & Sanjeedah Choudhury & Clifford Stott & Roger Ball & Daniel C Richardson, 2020. "Self-categorization as a basis of behavioural mimicry: Experiments in The Hive," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, October.

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