When Does Helping Help or Hurt? Factors Affecting Consumer Satisfaction from Retailer Help in Web and Store Shopping

Abstract

Help-seeking and help-giving have been investigated extensively in other areas, such as psychology, education, and child development, but have received relatively little attention in consumer behavior settings, where retailers often provide consumers with help. We draw from the extant literature on help, and from the unique aspects of help in consumer settings, to develop hypotheses concerning the impact on consumers of three kinds of help - requested, offered, and imposed - that have been identified in help research in other areas, and how this impact differs across store and internet shopping. We test these hypotheses with two laboratory experiments, one field study, and two field experiments.