A troubled relationship: an exploration of mall retailers and teen shoppers' thoughts, behaviors, and coping strategies as they interact with each other

Purpose – This research aims to examine some of the main sources of frustration in the relationship between retailers and teen shoppers and the coping strategies they use as they interact with each other in a mall environment. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from retailers and teen shoppers via depth interviews and the data were coded using a grounded theory approach. Findings – Retailers in the study expressed frustration with teen shoppers arising from disruptive behavior, and refusal to accept assistance. Retailers attempt to deal with these issues at both the individual and the corporate level. Teens' frustration with retailers stems from being ignored, and/or treated with suspicion. Teens also indicated that retailers attempt to manipulate and persuade them. Teens deal with these issues by neutralizing or proactively coping with the situation. Research limitations/implications – The results of this study provide some significant insights for retailers. Most of the retail informants did not report any specific training with respect to interacting with teenage shoppers. The results of this study, however, suggest that providing retail employees with an understanding of teens' shopping behaviors and perceptions might promote more positive interactions with teen shoppers. This study utilized two independent sets of data to capture informants' perceptions and self‐reported behaviors. Studying actual interactions between retailers and teen shoppers might help to address any potential bias associated with self‐reported data. Practical implications – The findings suggest that it is not a question of whether or not retailers should interact with teens but rather a question of how to interact with them so they do not feel ignored but also not pressured or treated with suspicion. Retailers should review the current strategies they use when customers first enter the store. By allowing teens to initiate the interaction, they are likely to feel more in control and less pressured. Originality/value – Very little, if any, previous research has combined data from both retailers and teen shoppers in one study. Novel managerial suggestions are made as well as conceptual contributions in the under‐researched area of teen persuasion detection and persuasion coping.