Does selling orientation shape customer satisfaction in B2C door-to-door food retailing? The mediating role of customer commitment

In B2C door-to-door (D2D) selling, personal interaction between sales representatives and customers crucially shapes the overall experience. This study examines how two prominent selling behaviors (consultative vs relational) impact customer satisfaction, considering the mediating role of customer commitment to the salesperson. Building on Construal-Level Theory (CLT), it explores how customer-seller psychological distance affects satisfaction. Findings indicate that consultative selling, emphasizing value and expertise, has a positive direct effect on customer satisfaction. Conversely, relational selling, based on trust and rapport, positively impacts satisfaction only when this relationship is mediated by customer commitment. Results underscore the crucial role of customer commitment when considering different selling orientations in seller-customer relationships within D2D frozen food retail contexts.