Happy to see you: the positive effects of in-store service encounters on the satisfaction of older consumers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although older consumers constitute a growing consumer segment with substantial buying power, not much is known about their satisfaction with retail stores and its antecedents. This study examines how having in-store, face-to-face service encounters with store personnel affects the store satisfaction of older consumers, focusing on the moderating role of consumer age and the mediating role of positive emotions. An empirical study demonstrates positive effects of service encounters with store employees on the store satisfaction and positive emotions of older consumers. Consumer age moderates these effects, so that there are no similar positive effects of in-store service encounters on store satisfaction or positive emotions for the younger consumers. Positive emotions also mediate the effects of in-store service encounters on store satisfaction for the older consumers, but not for the younger consumers.