Conventional wisdom suggests that salespeople should maintain close physical proximity to customers to demonstrate attentiveness, offer personal service and close sales. A survey of retail salespeople suggests that they feel the same. However, new Vanderbilt-led research challenges these assumptions. Freeman Wu, assistant professor of marketing at Owen Graduate School of Management, and a team of researchers, found across four studies that store loyalty, purchase intentions and spending behavior are negatively affected when consumers encounter a salesperson who is standing close by.