The role of salesperson communication in luxury selling

Abstract

This research note provides first insight into the question how salespeople should promote products that customers perceive as luxurious. The authors draw on the well-established finding of prior literature that purchasing luxurious products tends to make customers feel guilty. The authors theorize that informative salesperson communication (i.e., conveying facts about a product) is more effective than emotional salesperson communication (i.e., aiming to arouse positive affect), thereby leading to more favorable product evaluations and purchase intention. Furthermore, the advantageousness of informative salesperson communication for products perceived as luxurious is theorized to be particularly pronounced if these products serve hedonic functions and have relatively high price levels. Two studies, one field study and one scenario experiment, provide evidence supporting these predictions. Thereby, this research note aims to stimulate further research on successful personal selling in luxury contexts.

Keywords:

• luxury
• selling
• sales tactics
• salesperson communication
• information exchange
• inspirational appeals

Declaration of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Importantly, because different customers may regard different products as luxury items, we refrain from an objective operationalization of luxury products and instead focus on a customer’s perceived degree of luxury, defined as the extent to which the customer perceives a product as exclusive, prestigious, and possessing a high level of quality.