The importance that customers place on service attributes of sale personal in the retail sector

When examining retail patronage, customer satisfaction must also be considered. Secondary resources (American Marketing Association, 2007; Berman, 2011; Berry, 2008; Chang, 2006, p. 209; Helgesen & Nesset, 2007, p. 129, Kong and Jogaratnam, 2007, p. 279) observed that customer satisfaction is the degree to which customer’s expectations agree with the actual performance of the product and/or service
South African consumers situated in Gauteng consider a sales person’s product knowledge as the most important attribute when making purchasing decisions. American consumers, in contrast, consider sales person respect as the most important attribute when making purchasing decisions. The implications for marketers and sales managers are that marketers and sales managers must provide adequate training for their sales personnel in order for them to treat customers in such a way to obtain their loyalty.
The quality of the products sold at the retailer does not form part of the trade off options that customers are presented with.

Keywords: retail store customer, prices compared to competitors, salesperson product knowledge, salesperson responsiveness, South African retail consumers.
JEL Classification: L81, M31