A new study has found consumers do not like overly-flattering salespeople, even if they believe the compliments are sincere.

According to a report published by the Journal of Consumer Research, some shoppers react negatively to hearing a salesperson complimenting the style or appearance of other consumers. Luckily, they also found disliking a salesperson does not mean a customer stops buying from the store.

Researchers Elaine Chan from the Tilburg University and Jaideep Sengupta of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology conducted four experiments in clothing stores to investigate consumers' reactions to salespeople's flattery. In each case, participants heard salespeople making flattering comments about other customers' sense of style. Researchers then asked various questions about their opinions of the salespeople. The authors focused on flattery that could be judged as sincere, although they also examined reactions to flattery that observers would judge insincere, like when a salesperson offers profuse compliments before a customer makes a purchase.

“We found robust evidence that observers form both positive and negative reactions towards a purveyor of sincere flattery,” the study says. It found that when participants had time to think they tended to have positive opinions of the flatterers, but gut reactions to flattery were far more negative.

“These implicit reactions towards seemingly sincere flattery are as negative as when the observer has good reason to believe that flattery is actually insincere,” the authors write.

The study also revealed consumers are motivated by envy to choose an expensive, stylish pair of jeans over a cheaper standard pair.

“Over time, envy-based hostility towards the salesperson is no longer a part of the purchase decision; instead, this decision is influenced primarily by the wish to reduce envy—by appearing stylish oneself,” the authors concluded.

The latest Journal of Consumer Research is accessible online.