Can social support alleviate stress while shopping in crowded retail environments?

Laura Lucia-Palacios, Raúl Pérez-López and Yolanda Polo-Redondo

Journal of Business Research, 2018, vol. 90, issue C, 141-150

Abstract: This paper aims to find out whether sales associates and shopping companions, as two factors of the social servicescape, can help customers alleviate their levels of stress while shopping in crowded retail scenarios. Social Impact Theory is used to build a theoretical framework that is tested on a sample of mall shoppers. The findings demonstrate that sales associates can reduce customers' level of stress in crowded situations by employing their task and interaction competences. Customers with shopping companions feel less stress while shopping. When the companions are similar to the customer in shopping preferences, they can create boundaries to stress created by crowding. Finally, this research offers important implications for store managers as well as for sales associates.

Keywords: Stress; Coping; Social support; Sales associates; Shopping companions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:90:y:2018:i:c:p:141-150

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.05.018

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