Utilitarian and Hedonic Motivators of Shoppers’ Decision to Consult with Salespeople

•We develop a model of four motivators of shoppers’ decisions to consult with salespeople.•Purchase uncertainty is only one possible motivator of salesperson consultation.•Shoppers’ situation-related affect toward salespeople and shopping enjoyment increase consultation.•The relationship between efficiency orientation and consultation is inverted U-shaped.•Consultation is positively related to money spent by shoppers and fully mediates the spending effects of the four motivators.

Many retailers face the questions of whether providing consultation services would enhance store performance and, if so, what the retailers could do to increase the number of shoppers seeking salesperson consultation. Despite its importance, prior research has not answered the question of what influences retail shoppers to consult with salespeople. We use motivation theory and recent theorizing on behavioral decision-making to develop a model of four utilitarian and hedonic motivators of shopper consultation with salespeople. This model, which includes the relationship between consultation and amount of money spent by shoppers, was tested with data from 425 shoppers. Our results demonstrate situational and individual influences, both utilitarian (i.e., shoppers’ purchase uncertainty and efficiency orientation) and hedonic (i.e., shoppers’ situation-related affect toward salespeople and shopping enjoyment), that prompt retail shoppers to consult with salespeople. As well, we find that salesperson consultation is positively related to the amount of money spent by shoppers and completely mediates the spending effects of the four motivators of consultation. This research shows that motivation theory is useful for better understanding salesperson consultation and can assist retailers that compete on service to better implement consultation-oriented strategies.

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