Adaptive selling: how personalised sales strategies can restore the competitive edge of physical retail

Online retail continues to chip away at the market share of traditional stores. Faced with aggressive pricing, convenience, and speed, what can physical shops offer to remain attractive?

Something that digital platforms still struggle to replicate: human interaction. A responsive salesperson can interpret vague needs, provide tailored guidance, and make the buying experience more intuitive. That is the promise of adaptive selling.

Putting human connection back at the centre of the shopping experience

The concept of adaptive selling is based on the salesperson’s ability to adjust their communication based on the profile of each customer whether it is the communication style or the content of the communication. Rather than delivering a standard pitch, the adaptive salesperson quickly assesses how specific the customer’s goal is, and what type of product they’re looking for.

Yenee Kim, Assistant Professor of Marketing at EDHEC Business School, and Richard G. McFarland, Professor of Marketing at ESSEC Business School, have conducted a research which shows that a nuanced, personalised approach not only improves the shopping experience but also drives a significant increase in sales.

Two variables are central to this dynamic: the clarity of the customer’s goal, referred to as shopping goal specificity (SGS), and the nature of the product, whether utilitarian or pleasure-based. A customer with a clear, detailed objective (like purchasing a smartphone with specific specifications) needs to be approached differently from another who is browsing around the store without a set plan.

Reading customers’ shopping goals and adjusting the sales pitch accordingly

When a customer expresses a clear and specific product (i.e., high SGS), they expect a factual, structured response. They seek reassurance through objective data: technical specs, guarantees, performance metrics, durability, ergonomics. This is especially true for utilitarian products.

On the other hand, if a shopper’s goal is vague, or they simply say they’re “just browsing,” an emotional approach is more appropriate. Describing how a product feels, the mood it creates, or the comfort it offers can be far more effective, especially when it comes to pleasure purchases like perfumes, jewelry, or home décor.

The ability to move between factual and emotional sales influence tactics depending on the situation is at the heart of adaptive selling. A well-trained store team can activate different persuasion levers depending on the product and the mindset of the shopper.

The results of Kim and McFarland’s study underscore the strong impact of this approach: when the sales influence tactic is properly aligned with the customer’s shopping goal specificity level and product type, average sales per customer increase by 105%, and conversion rates go up by 50%. Lack of personalization, by contrast, results in a significant loss in potential revenue.

Training frontline salespeople for personalised customer relations

Beyond these figures, the study offers actionable guidelines for applying adaptive selling in the retail store.

The first key is helping salespeople identify the clarity of the customer’s goal early in the conversation. A simple question like “Are you looking for something specific or just browsing?” can immediately reveal which direction to take. Based on the response, the salesperson can choose between a technical explanation or a sensory, emotional pitch.

The second factor lies in aligning the message with the customer’s information processing style. If they are in a concrete, goal-driven mindset which is driven by specific shopping goals and shopping for utilitarian products, the interaction should focus on factual product information. If customers are in an abstract, browsing-around mindset which is driven by specific shopping goals and shopping for pleasure-based products, they will be more receptive to messages that evoke emotional benefits of the product. This idea, processing fluency, is often overlooked, yet it is essential for making information easy to understand which enhances persuasiveness.

The value of adaptive selling goes well beyond short-term sales boosts. Personalizing customer relationships builds satisfaction, trust, and loyalty. At a time when consumers have multiple shopping channels and are increasingly unpredictable, this relational capital becomes a vital strategic asset for physical retail stores. It’s not just about selling a product; it’s about crafting a memorable experience that justifies the visit to the store.

With the rise of AI, recommendation algorithms, and automated purchase paths, the ability to sense, interpret, and adapt to a customer’s specific needs gives renewed meaning to the salesperson’s role. Picking up on hesitation, spotting unspoken interest, or rephrasing unclear expectations, these micro-skills aren’t innate. They are taught, practiced, and refined through ongoing training and observations. For store managers, investing in these skills is a smart and forward-looking decision.

Kim and McFarland’s study makes a clear case: in the face of e-commerce growth, adaptive selling gives physical stores a meaningful way to differentiate. Consumers’ buying decisions are rarely purely rational; they are also emotional, contextual, and relational. And in that space, technology still hasn’t replaced the intuition, empathy, and nuance of a skilled human seller.

References

(1) Yenee Kim & Richard G. McFarland, 2024. "Are you looking for something specific or just looking around? Adaptive selling on the basis of customer shopping goals in retail sales," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(6), pages 1780-1804, November - https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joamsc/v52y2024i6d10.1007_s11747-024-01015-y.html

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