Picture yourself walking through a shopping mall when a salesperson greets you warmly, calls you “Madam” or “Chief,” and flashes a confident smile. You might not consciously register it, but that brief exchange could be quietly nudging you toward a purchase. How much do a salesperson’s looks and choice of words actually sway what we decide to buy, and whether we come back or tell our friends?
A study published in the Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science takes up that question in the retail sector of Ghana. The researchers found that two subtle social signals, a salesperson’s physical attractiveness and their use of respectful titles, are linked to shoppers’ decisions to buy. Those decisions, in turn, are tied to higher satisfaction, a greater likelihood of returning, and a stronger inclination to recommend the store.
A research gap in an underexamined market
The work was led by Deli Dotse Gli of the University of Ghana Business School, along with colleagues from the University of Ghana, the University of Professional Studies in Accra, and Koforidua Technical University. The team points out that most research on how salespeople influence shoppers has centered on Western or online settings, leaving Africa’s fast-growing retail sector largely out of the picture.
That absence matters, the authors argue, because shopping behavior is shaped by culture. In many African societies, they note, interpersonal relationships carry heavy weight, and people often read trust through nonverbal cues like smiles, nods, and tone before getting down to business. The researchers wanted to know how these relational dynamics play out at the point of sale.
They zeroed in on two cues. The first is salesperson attractiveness, defined simply as how appealing a shopper finds a salesperson’s physical appearance. The second is the use of honorifics, which are titles of respect. In Ghana’s retail settings, the study explains, salespeople commonly use terms like “Boss,” “Madam,” “Chief,” “Senior,” or local titles such as “Ohene” (King) and “Ohemaa” (Queen) to engage customers. The authors describe honorifics as a verbal cue that signals deference and can lift a customer’s sense of social status.
Two theories behind the questions
To frame their investigation, the researchers leaned on two established ideas from psychology and marketing. The first, the heuristic-systematic model, holds that people process information in two ways: through careful analysis, or through mental shortcuts. When shoppers are pressed for time or not thinking deeply, they tend to lean on shortcuts, treating cues like good looks or polite language as quick stand-ins for qualities like competence and trustworthiness.
The second idea, expectancy-disconfirmation theory, deals with what happens after a purchase. It proposes that people form expectations beforehand and then compare the actual experience against them. When the experience meets or beats expectations, satisfaction follows. When it falls short, dissatisfaction sets in. By combining the two frameworks, the team aimed to trace a path from the first impression a salesperson makes all the way through to whether a customer returns or spreads the word.
How the study was conducted
The researchers used a method called the mall intercept, approaching shoppers directly inside two shopping malls in Ghana. To make sure they were surveying genuine buyers, the team and five trained assistants approached people carrying at least one shopping bag, and they limited the survey to adults aged 18 and older. Over four days, they approached 675 shoppers, and 334 agreed to take part. The final group included 189 men and 145 women, with about half between the ages of 26 and 35.
Participants answered questions on a seven-point scale, rating their recent encounter with a salesperson across several areas: the salesperson’s attractiveness, their use of respectful forms of address, the shopper’s purchase decision, satisfaction, intention to buy again, and intention to recommend the store. Most of the measures came from existing research, but the honorifics scale was new. The team built it from scratch, consulting three linguistics professors, running a focus group with undergraduate students, and conducting a pilot test before settling on the final wording.
To analyze the responses, the researchers used a statistical technique called structural equation modeling, which lets them test a web of relationships among several variables at once. They ran a series of checks to confirm the measures were reliable and that the patterns were not an artifact of how the survey was designed.
What the analysis revealed
The results supported the idea that both cues are tied to purchase decisions. Attractiveness showed the stronger link, while the use of honorifics also had a meaningful connection. Together, these two factors accounted for roughly 48 percent of the variation in shoppers’ purchase decisions, a sizable share. The authors read this as evidence that, in low-effort shopping moments, consumers do lean on a salesperson’s appearance and respectful language as shortcuts.
The study also found that purchase decisions were connected to what came afterward. Making a purchase was strongly linked to satisfaction with the salesperson, and also tied to a greater likelihood of buying again and of recommending the store. Satisfaction, in turn, was associated with both repeat purchase and the intention to recommend.
One predicted relationship did not hold up. The researchers had expected that customers who intend to buy again would also be more inclined to recommend the store, but the data showed no meaningful connection between the two. The authors offer a couple of possible explanations. One is technical: repeat purchase was measured with a single survey item, which may have limited how well it captured the concept. The other is cultural. In a collectivist society like Ghana’s, they suggest, recommending a store may depend more on emotional satisfaction and the quality of the relationship than on the simple habit of returning to buy.
What it might mean for retailers
The authors draw out a few practical suggestions, while cautioning that the findings come from one country and may not transfer neatly to other markets. Because both attractiveness and honorifics were linked to purchase decisions, they suggest retailers consider these factors in hiring and training, including coaching staff on professional communication and the respectful use of titles to build rapport. They also point to grooming and appearance standards that match local expectations, especially in upscale stores.
Given the weak link between repeat buying and recommendation, the team advises businesses not to assume that loyal repeat customers will automatically become advocates. Instead, they suggest focusing on memorable, personalized experiences that satisfy customers enough to make them want to tell others.
The researchers are candid about the study’s limits. The data came from a single moment in time rather than tracking shoppers over months, and it covered formal mall settings while skipping Ghana’s informal retail sector, where the vast majority of the country’s transactions actually take place. They suggest that future work could examine both settings, follow shoppers over longer periods, and explore other salesperson traits like empathy, extroversion, and product knowledge.
