Rude staff helps better sales of luxury brands: Report

According to study consumers who get the brush-off at a high-end retailer can become more willing to purchase and wear pricey tags

A new study has found that when it comes to luxury brands, the ruder the staff, the better is the sales.

According to the research by University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, consumers who get the brush-off at a high-end retailer can become more willing to purchase and wear pricey tags.

Sauder Marketing Professor Darren Dahl said that it appears that snobbiness might actually be a qualification worth considering for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton or Gucci and their research indicates they can end up having a similar effect to an 'in-group' in high school that others aspire to join.

The researchers found that the sales staff rudeness did not improve impressions of mass-market brands. And the improved impressions gained by rude treatment faded over time.

The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research.