Trust during retail encounters: A touchy proposition

Adopting an interpersonal communication perspective, this study examines the propositions that a salesperson's touch increases trust, which increases product evaluations and purchase intention. These relationships are evaluated in a contact and non-contact culture, with need for touch (NFT) examined as an additional moderator. An exploratory series of in-depth interviews provides an initial understanding of these relationships, followed by a 2 (touch/no touch condition) × 2 (consumers in France/Germany) experiment with wine serving as the example category. The findings indicate that touch does not uniformly instill trust in customers. Instead a salesperson's touch relates to greater trust only when consumers have an inherent NFT or when they are from a culture where personal touching behavior is less prevalent. Trust, in turn, relates positively to evaluations of product attractiveness, quality, and to purchase intention.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► We examine how a salesperson's touch affects customers’ product evaluation. ► We focus on trust as an important mediator of the touch-evaluation relation. ► Individual need for touch and culture-specific touching behavior are moderators. ► Data are obtained from eighteen professionals and 120 consumers in two cultures. ► The findings support decisions on how to increase trust and product evaluation.