North American retail employees offer more smiles.
SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL
BY Kelly Johnson

JULY 3, 2006

North American retailers are more likely to offer a smile to shoppers than their European counterparts, according to research compiled from mystery shopping sources including National Shopping Service in Rocklin.

In a worldwide survey, the International Mystery Shopping Alliance found that North American retail workers offered a smile to 90 percent of their customers (234,208 of 259,864), 15 percent better than European workers.

The best results came from the big-box sector, where North American employees offered a smile to 98 percent of customers, compared to 35 percent in Europe.

North Americans working in clothing/specialty stores smiled at 96 percent of their customers, and to 93 percent of those entering a jewelry/accessories store. The lowest score for North American workers was 85 percent in the grocery/food/supermarkets and automotive categories. That tied with the European workers.

Results were based on 411,350 mystery shopping visits in North America and Europe during 2005. Not all industries were surveyed in all regions.

"A smile is a universal unspoken language that speaks volumes," Matt Wozniak, president and CEO of National Shopping Service, said in a news release Monday. "It instantaneously and strongly communicates 'Yes.' It communicates genuine interest, happiness, health and a sense of well-being."