Moderating Effects of Retail Operations and Hard-Sell Sales Techniques on Salesperson’s Interpersonal Skills and Customer Repurchase Intention

Abstract

Salesperson’s interpersonal skills have always played an important role in influencing various stages of customer’s purchase decision. With the increase in retail outlets and merchandisers, retail operations have taken a pivotal role in influencing the salesperson’s sales practices and customer’s purchase decisions. This study tries to examine the influence of salesperson’s interpersonal skills and retail operations on customer repurchase. A salesperson’s interpersonal skills are the trained and tacit competencies that a salesperson employs to improve customer relationships and sales. Many organizations prefer skill training as a strategic approach to increase sales. Though successful in its objective, salesperson’s skill training fails to attract repetitive purchases. It has become a necessity to train frontline employees to better understand customer needs, keeping in mind the firm’s ultimate objective. This study examines the negative influence of retail operations on the relationship between salesperson’s interpersonal skills and customer repurchase. The findings suggest that retail operations significantly moderate the relationship between salesperson’s interpersonal skills and customer repurchase. We also find that long wait times and disorganized stores play a significant moderating role in negatively influence customer repurchase. This study has important implications for retailers and sales managers.