How Knowledgeable are Salespeople About the Usability of Their Merchandise?

Abstract

Salespeople (selling dryers, cell phones, recliners, or jewelry) in 25 stores were asked to recommend products they believed to be easy to use. They were also asked which products or features were most likely to be helpful to customers with specific physical, cognitive, or sensory limitations. There was little consensus across salespeople selling the same product. There were surprising omissions and some examples of incorrect claims. Further, salespeople largely ignored (or were unaware of) design features that enhance sensory and cognitive usability. The majority of claims dealt with product features that purportedly reduce physical strain.

Talk is Cheap: On the Usability Advice Salespeople offer to Older Consumers

“…Replicating the findings of Carswell et al (2004), we found that salespeople made more claims per interview about nonspecific aspects of usability (M = .95) and those that focused on physical strength and mobility limitations (M = 1.14) compared to the number of claims made regarding sensory (M = .32) and cognitive (M = .23) issues (F(3,186}= 12.61, p < .0001, Tukey-Kramer p < .01). Follow-up analyses revealed that the importance of sensory information varied as a function of product class, with sensory information gaining in importance when salespeople talked about the usability of cell phones.…”

“…Following the procedures of Carswell et al (2004), we focused our questions on the usability of four product classes -recliners, dryers, jewelry, and cell phones. These products were chosen to include products that required relatively gross movement for control (i.e., recliners and dryers) and others that required predominantly fine movement (i.e., cell phones and jewelry).…”

“…The current study is an extension of a study that provided a preliminary glimpse at the quality and quantity of usability information salespeople could provide to consumers (Carswell, Lio, and McNally, 2004). In that study, we prompted the salespeople we approached with a scenario involving an older consumer who had specific physical and cognitive concerns.…”

Evidence for an Elders' Advantage in the Naive Product Usability Judgments of Older and Younger Adults

“…Second, the contribution of usability engineering to the commercial success of consumer products is to some degree dependent on the usability perceptions of shoppers. In a recent study, we found that the usability advice of salespeople provided little guidance for shoppers (Carswell, Lio, & McNally, 2004). Thus, consumers of any age who want an easy-to-use product may need to rely on their own usability judgments.…”