Allthelook Blog

Researchers found that women were less likely to buy a product if they believed that the female staff member was more attractive than them as they were considered a direct “social threat”.

Unlike celebrity endorsements, which were seen as positive role models, beautiful female shop assistants appear to be a little “too close to home” and direct competition to the purchaser. Potential purchasers may be even put off entering the shop altogether.

Bianca Price, of the University of South Australia, Adelaide, believes that retail bosses should now rethink their desire to employ “gorgeous girls” to work the shop floor as shoppers, especially women aged 18 to 26, can feel intimidated by assistants who “appear flawless and beautiful”.

“Retailers often think that beautiful is better,” she said. “In the same way that they use a celebrity to endorse a product, they hire a beautiful girl thinking that it reflects the brand and that other women will want to be like her.

“But it doesn’t always work like that – women may not consider celebrities a direct social threat, but they might consider the girl at their local shopping centre to be one.”

Her findings come after disabled British student Riam Dean won an employment tribunal against fashion chain Abercrombie and Fitch. She claimed she was sent to the stock room because her artificial arm did not fit the company’s “look policy.”

Ms Price, aged 27, admitted to feeling intimidated herself by pretty sales assistants and carried out the research to find out if other women felt the same way.

Using photographs of hypothetical shop workers – both attractive and unattractive – she asked 341 women whether they would consider buying cosmetics or a mobile phone from them.

If they considered the assistant to be better looking than them, they were less likely to buy something, the results showed.

The findings, published in the Journal of International Business and Economics, suggest so-called “look policies” should be re-drawn to include women of all shapes, looks and sizes.

“An advert in a magazine is one thing but going to the counter to make a face to face purchase is a completely different experience,” she said.

“When we go into a store we are looking for things which are going to make us feel better but when you have someone who seems to have it all naturally it can be confronting and threatening. You end up wondering ‘Why do I bother?’

“We are bombarded with images in life and women, especially younger ones, consider their appearance to be their CV.

“It’s what can determine the number of friends they have, their luck in finding a relationship and their success in their career.

“Women are biologically competitive – if they consider that a female is a direct social threat, it may affect their behaviour. We found that if women tended to avoid making the purchase.”

Ms Price, a PhD researcher at the university’s School of Management who co-authored the paper, said retailers should learn from the study.

“Beautiful is not always better,” she said. “It may not translate into higher sales. In fact, the opposite may occur. Retailers need

to understand that beauty can affect their bottom line. The solution lies in hiring women of all shapes and sizes – someone each of your potential customers can relate to.”

Although the attitudes of men were not part of the study, she believed that they may also be put off by being served by someone they regarded at better-looking.

Source: Telegragh UK