Want To Succeed In Retail? Hire Ugly People

We typically scoff at beautiful actresses who claim they have a hard time scoring roles because they’re “too attractive” (Hi, Charlize!). But a new study shows that the situation isn’t so different in the retail industry, either.

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A report in the Journal of Consumer Research (via Time) claims that employing extremely attractive floor people can be detrimental to business because shoppers find them too intimidating. I mean, would you feel totally cool about asking that Chris Pine look-alike in your local CVS where to find the chocolate-flavored Ex-Lax? NOPE!

“Even when the attractive salesperson is the same sex, consumers may feel a sense of inadequacy through self-comparison,” write the study’s authors, Lisa C. Wan and Robert S. Wyer Jr. “In either case, the shopper may avoid interacting with physically attractive providers, rendering the salespeople ineffective.”

A 2009 study unearthed by Time states that it isn’t just “embarrassing” purchases that cause people to stay away from pretty salesfolk: It showed that women ages 19 to 26 were less likely to buy common goods like makeup and phones from a retail employee who was much more attractive than them. Envy is a bitch.

The findings go against the “hotter is better” mentality that several retailers, such as American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Hollister Co., have used throughout the years in their hiring process. Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, those same stores have had a particularly rough go of it financially over the past few years.

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It just goes to show that being genetically blessed doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be blessed with an income and bomb-ass employee discount. So for all you “normals” out there, the next time that the Kendall or Gigi in your life complains about being broke as a joke and jobless, try to take pity on her, won’t you?