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Tourism shopping behavior: Planned, impulsive, or experiential?

Article  in  International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research · August 2012

DOI: 10.1108/17506181211246401

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International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Emerald Article: Tourism shopping behavior: planned, impulsive, or
experiential?
Fang Meng, Yingjiao Xu

Article information:
To cite this document: Fang Meng, Yingjiao Xu, (2012),"Tourism shopping behavior: planned, impulsive, or experiential?",
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 6 Iss: 3 pp. 250 - 265
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Tourism shopping behavior: planned,
impulsive, or experiential?
Fang Meng and Yingjiao Xu

Fang Meng is Assistant Abstract

Professor in the School of Purpose – This research attempts to expand the understanding of the nature of tourist shopping
Hotel, Restaurant, and behavior. More specifically, this study aims to explore the influences of the components of planned
Tourism Management, behavior, impulsive behavior, and experiential consumption on tourists’ intentions to shop/purchase in
Center of Economic the tourism context.
Excellence in Tourism and Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual study reviews and investigates the major current
Economic Development, research in the areas of planned behavior, impulse purchase, experiential consumption, as well as
University of South tourism shopping behavior/experience. By reviewing and assessing important relevant concepts, this
study proposes a conceptual framework of tourist shopping behavior.
Carolina, Columbia, South
Carolina, USA. Yingjiao Xu Findings – Based on the extensive review and discussion of the related literature, this study proposes
is Associate Professor in the that tourist shopping intention and actual purchase behavior are influenced by various indicators,
including planned behavior, impulsive behavior, and experiential consumption factors. In other words,
Fashion and Textile
tourist shopping behavior is a mixture of planned, impulsive, and experiential consumption behavior.
Management, Department
Originality/value – The study of tourism shopping is still limited and in an exploratory stage. The
of Textiles and Apparel,
resulting theoretical framework of this study is an inclusive overarching structure systematically
Technology and
explaining the nature of tourist shopping behavior from the perspectives of planned behavior, impulsive
Management, North buying, and experiential consumption. This study is expected to provide better information and
Carolina State University, understanding of the factors influencing tourist shopping behavior, which, in turn, will lead to improved
Raleigh, North Carolina, planning, marketing and management of sales, expenditures and opportunities in the tourism and retail
USA. industries.
Keywords Tourism shopping, Planned behavior, Impulse purchase, Experiential consumption,
Consumer behaviour, Shopping
Paper type Conceptual paper

Introduction
With the fast growth of the global tourism industry, shopping as one of tourists’ favored
activities has become a significant economic contributor to the tourism and retail industries.
The importance of shopping in tourists’ overall experience has begun to draw increasing
attention from tourism-related product manufacturers, marketers, retailers, and researchers.
The shopping activity is often the most significant expenditure category on vacations and
trips. Studies have shown that tourists spend about one-third of their total tourism
expenditures on shopping (Littrell et al., 1994). According to the US Travel Association,
shopping ranks the most popular activity for US domestic travelers in recent years. In 2000,
about 91 million people (63 percent of adult travelers) included shopping as an activity on a
trip, which indicated that 34 percent of all person-trips or over 345 million US person-trips
include shopping (US Travel Association, n.d.). In 2004, shopping represented 30 percent of
all the person-trips and remains the top domestic trip activity among the US travelers (US
Travel Association, n.d.).
Received April 2010
Revised August 2010
In addition to the domestic travel, shopping is particularly important to international tourists,
Accepted September 2010 who would spend a more significant amount of money on souvenirs and goods that may not

PAGE 250 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH j VOL. 6 NO. 3 2012, pp. 250-265, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182 DOI 10.1108/17506181211246401
be readily available or affordable in their home country (Dimanche, 2003; Jansen-Verbeke,
1991; Timothy and Butler, 1995). The US Travel Association reported that Asian tourists had
a much higher tendency to include shopping as a trip activity compared to total US travelers
(39 percent of person-trips vs 34 percent in 2003)1. Tourism shopping revenue also makes
an important contribution to the Asian regions such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and
Indonesia, which are promoting themselves as popular holiday destinations as well as
shopping paradise (Heung and Cheng, 2000).
Tourism destinations worldwide increasingly use shopping as a tourism resource and create
and promote shopping as the main attraction of a region (Jansen-Verbeke, 1991, 1998).
Shopping, as an integral part of many tourists’ experience, can be one of the major reasons
why people travel (Timothy and Butler, 1995), and often serves as a key component of a
product mix or tourism resource of destinations (Dimanche, 2003). Despite the importance
and contributions to tourism destinations, the role of shopping as a tourist activity has been
long underrepresented in the tourism literature; and the study of tourism shopping is still
limited and in an exploratory stage (Jansen-Verbeke, 1991, 1998; Yu and Littrell, 2003; Oh
et al., 2004; Heung and Cheng, 2000). Tourist shopping behavior, in the unique context of
tourism setting, is often different from day-to-day shopping (Oh et al., 2004). Therefore, it is
essential to examine the characteristics of tourist shopping behavior, for example, the
meanings, structures, expectations, and preference patterns of tourist shopping behavior
(Jansen-Verbeke, 1991, 1998; Yu and Littrell, 2003; Oh et al., 2004; Belk, 1988).
To better understand the nature of tourist shopping behavior, the fundamental knowledge of
different types of consumer behaviors (i.e. planned behavior, impulse buying, and
experiential consumption) should be thoroughly examined and applied in the tourism
context. However, very limited research has revealed the associations between reasoned
action and buying intentions (Yu and Littrell, 2005), and to the authors’ knowledge, there was
no conceptual or empirical study that specifically examine tourist behavior’s planned,
impulsive, or experiential features.
Planned behavior, impulse purchase, and the concept of experiential shopping have been
discussed in the consumer behavior and retailing literature. However, there is scarce
research which attempts to answer the following questions: Is tourist shopping a planned,
impulsive, or experiential behavior? Or is tourism a mixed phenomenon of these three
components? Which factor may play a more important role in the tourist shopping
experience? The purpose of this study is, therefore, to expand the understanding of tourists’
shopping experiences by examining these questions through a conceptual approach.
Specifically, the aim of the article is to propose an integrative research framework of tourism
shopping based on an extended discussion of previous research from tourism and
marketing literature on the previous topics.
This conceptual study reviews and investigates the major current research in the areas of
planned behavior, impulse purchase, experiential consumption, as well as tourism shopping
behavior/experience. A particular contribution of this study is to systematically examine the
nature of tourist shopping behavior from the perspectives of planned, impulsive, and
experiential consumption behaviors. This study will provide better information and
understanding of the factors influencing tourist shopping behavior, and lead to improved
planning, marketing and management of sales, expenditures and opportunities in the
tourism and retail industries.

Literature review
Tourism and shopping
Unique characteristics of tourism shopping. From a consumer behavior perspective,
tourists’ shopping behavior varies from the rational and ordinary purchasing acts at home
and calls for special attention (Oh et al., 2004). Crompton (1979) stated vacation travel is
considered ‘‘unordinary time’’ when individuals are in a break from their normal routine,
which means they are not working, not serious, not responsible or not thrifty, and very likely in
an escape mood. Shopping activities often link to a particular shopping context (Buttle,

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 1992). Due to the fact that individuals’ vacation travel is special leisure time spent at a place
away from their ordinary everyday life settings, a tourist’s shopping and purchasing behavior
often differs considerably within the exciting and non-home atmosphere of travel (Brown,
1992; Littrell et al., 1993; Timothy and Butler, 1995; Turner and Reisinger, 2001; Belk, 1988).
The range of goods purchased by tourists is large and includes not only souvenirs and
necessary personal items, but also a variety of items such as clothes, jewelry, books, art and
craft, duty-free goods and electronic goods (Turner and Reisinger, 2001).
In addition, tourists’ shopping is a hedonic and leisure activity which is often closely
associated with the tourists’ experiences of the ‘‘consumption of place’’ (Jansen-Verbeke,
1990, 1998; Timothy and Butler, 1995). During traveling or in the tourism destinations, tourist
shoppers are not only attracted by unique shopping environment and stimulations
(e.g. unique nature, settings and ambience of the stores) which are different from ordinary
shopping settings at home, they also look for excitement and pleasure, and seek
opportunities to interact with local people when shopping (Littrell et al., 1994; Jones, 1999).
Tosun and colleagues suggest (Tosun et al., 2007), although shopping functions as a leisure
tourist activity, it also creates a significant opportunity for visitors to become exposed to the
host culture. Tourism shopping experience is also related to the aesthetic aspects, where
tourist shoppers are able to examine, feel, and think about items even if shopping is not a
major motive for travel (Snepenger et al., 2003).
Tourism shopping motivation. Shopping opportunity can often function as a tourist attraction
(Dimanche, 2003; Moscardo, 2004; Heung and Cheng, 2000). Researchers have
recognized shopping as one of the major motivations of travelers (Kent et al., 1983;
Reisinger and Turner, 2002; Kim and Littrell, 1999, 2001), and serves as a major attraction
drawing tourists to destination countries where prices of goods are generally low
(Jansen-Verbeke, 1991; Timothy and Butler, 1995). Heung and Cheng (2000) suggest
consumers may consider shopping for unneeded products as a leisure activity. In tourism
settings, tourists may have multiple motives for a shopping trip, including diversion,
self-gratification, learning about local traditions and new trends, and sensory stimulation
(Tauber, 1972).
Tourism shopping allows visitors to bring home the physical evidence, the tangible symbol
and reminder of an experience that differs from daily routine (Gordon, 1986). From the tourist
perspective, the purchased goods, as tangible articles, satisfy the intangible images or
proof of experiences remembered by tourists (Graburn, 1980; Littrell et al., 1994). Tourists’
purchases are often symbolic consumption in which the goods carry special meanings,
memories and values they wish to cherish and remember (Anderson and Littrell, 1995; Belk,
1988; Gordon, 1986; Littrell et al., 1993; Oh et al., 2004; Swanson, 2004). The tourist shopper
uses these goods for social psychological reasons of self-identity construction and
self-development for symbolic meanings, and the gift giving of souvenirs can be a means of
supporting a relationship with others in social psychological perspectives (Park, 2000;
Reisinger and Turner, 2002; Kim and Littrell, 2001).
Tourists’ motivations are closely associated with their purchasing behaviors. Swanson and
Horridge (2006) revealed travel motivations influence tourists’ perceived shopping attributes
such as aesthetics, uniqueness, location, promotion, sales associates, and so on. Littrell
et al. (1994) identifies four tourism styles/motivations: ethnic, arts, and people; history and
parks; urban entertainment; and active outdoor. Each group shows distinctive shopping
preferences, and the products purchased and selection criteria are different for each group.
Following this typology, Yu and Littrell (2003) propose a two-category of tourists: socially
engaged tourist and spectator and recreational tourist. Socially engaged tourists immerse
themselves in the social and cultural contexts during their visits, and make connections
between themselves and people they met on the trips. Spectator and recreational tourists,
on the other hand, enjoy outdoor activities and being close to nature but do not highlight
interactions with local communities as a focus of their travels. Yu and Littrell (2003) present
support to their proposition that socially engaged tourists are interested in process-oriented
shopping, whereas spectator/recreation tourists would prefer product-oriented shopping.
Process-orientated shoppers enjoy the interactions with the local artisans, watching craft

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demonstrations, and learning about the cultural and historical significance for a craft in its
local context. In contrast, product-oriented shoppers place high value on product
craftsmanship and aesthetics, and value the function of the products on how they can be
used in their homes.
Tourism shopping attributes. To improve shopping area attractiveness for tourists,
Jansen-Verbeke (1991) suggest the following specific criteria:
B clustering of a wide variety of shops, catering, leisure, and other activities and attractions;
B good accessibility and parking;
B pedestrian priority over vehicles;
B a positive image;
B attractive design (aesthetics);
B availability during leisure time (e.g. Sundays);
B hospitableness (visitor orientation, adequate information, symbolism identification);
B social affective value; and
B liveliness or animation, with surprises.
Berry (1969) suggests 12 components motivating consumers to purchase in specific
businesses: price, quality, assortment, fashion, sales personnel, location convenience, other
convenience criteria, services, sales promotions, advertising, store atmosphere, and
reputation on adjustments. Pysarchik (1989) proposes location, uniform store hours, easy
accessibility, available and free parking, and lodging facilities are positive attributes to
entice tourists’ store patronage. There are other studies, although limited, discussing the
specific product attributes important to tourist shoppers (Graburn, 1976; Turner and
Reisinger, 2001; Littrell et al., 1994).

Shopping as a planned behavior

Planned shopping behavior is defined as a buying action undertaken with a problem having
been previously recognized or a buying intention formed prior to entering the store (Piron,
1993). Engel et al. (1978) argue that when purchasing product, most consumers undergo the
consumer decision making process including need recognition, information search, evaluation
of alternatives, purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. Consumers decide whether to make a
purchase, which purchase to make, and where to make the purchase by weighing the costs
and benefits of alternatives with a motivation to maximize the benefits. The Engel, Kollatt, and
Blackwell (EKB) model proposes the product evaluation process leading to purchase decision
consists of four key components: beliefs, attitudes, evaluation criteria, and intention. In addition,
individual characteristics, including personality, lifestyles, motives, values, norms, and
reference groups, influence consumers’ product evaluation (Engel et al., 1993).
Levy and Weitz (2009) propose a Multi-Attribute Model to study the consumers’ shopping
decision making process. They postulate the shopping process is triggered with consumers’
recognition of their unsatisfied needs, both utilitarian and hedonic, and carried out through
consumers’ active search and evaluation of information about alternative products/retailers
and selection of the best alternative to satisfy the needs. At the same time, they also
recognize the influence of social factors on consumers’ shopping behavior, such as family
and reference group (Levy and Weitz, 2009).
A similar but more inclusive and powerful model in predicting consumer behavior intentions
and actual behavior is the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). This model is an
extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen and
Fishbein, 1980) and has been widely used in investigating different kinds of human social
behavior, including consumer shopping behavior. The basic assumption of the Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) is that human beings are rational and make
systematic use of information to make a reasoned decision on a particular behavior. The
theory proposes that human behavior is predicted by behavior intention (BI) and perceived

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 behavior control (PBC) when the behavior is not under volitional control. Behavior intentions
are plans to act in a particular way and represent motives toward the behavior. This theory
postulates three conceptually independent determinants of behavior intention: attitude
toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control. The relative
importance of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control in the prediction of
intention varies across behaviors and situations.
Attitude. According to the TPB model (Ajzen, 1991), attitude (Ab) is an overall evaluation of
the behavior as favorable or unfavorable. Attitude is based on the individual’s evaluation of
beliefs that performing the behavior has certain attributes. The strength of each belief (bi) is
combined with the evaluation of the belief (ei) in a multiplicative fashion. The resulting
products are summed over all the salient beliefs to measure the attitude. In the context of
shopping, Ab could be interpreted as attitude toward purchasing a given product or product
class, or purchasing from a particular retailer/shopping venue. The bi may be viewed as the
person’s estimate of whether or not the particular purchasing behavior will possess a desired
attribute, such as price and quality. Salient behavior attributes may vary across different
shopping behaviors in question. The attributes could be more related to the product(s) being
purchased, such as price, quality, and image (Birgelen et al., 2009; Hansen, 2008; Shaw
et al., 2007; Summers et al., 2006), or the retailer/shopping venues (Chung and Chang,
2005; Hansen, 2008; Xu and Paulins, 2005).
In the tourism context, the selective nature of products that tourists purchase leads to a
selective list of desired product attributes (Turner and Reisinger, 2001). Graburn (1976)
reports preferred product attributes for travelers include: easily portable, relatively
inexpensive, understandable, cleanable, and usable on returning home. Pysarchik (1989)
reveals size, fragility, and manageability are important product attributes to air travelers.
Turner and Reisinger (2001) indicate three product attributes desired by tourists: value
(range, quality), product display characteristics (color, display, packaging, size), and
uniqueness (memory of the trip). Littrell et al. (1994) develop the list of product attributes for
each of the four typologies of tourists: ethnic, arts, and people; history and parks; urban
entertainment; and active outdoor tourists. The four groups prefer different features of the
tourist products, including aesthetic qualities, uniqueness, functional qualities, cleaning and
care, symbolism of the place, the display at home, and so on.
Subjective norm. Subjective norm (SN) evaluates the perceived social pressures from
referents to perform or not to perform a particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Subjective norm is
based on the individual’s normative belief (ni) on the likelihood that a certain referent approves
or disapproves performing a given behavior and the person’s motivation to comply (mi) with
the referent in question. Subjective norm is measured as the summation of the products of the
normative belief (ni) and the motivation to comply (mi) across all the salient referents. Common
referents identified are family members and friends. In the context of shopping, additional
referents could be media, sales associates, or even other shoppers in the store.
In tourism settings, tourists frequently travel with family members and friends and often shop
with these companions during travel (US Travel Association, n.d.). The trends of increasingly
popular leisure tourism suggest it is important to examine the influences of shopping
companions (e.g. family and friends) and other referents on tourists’ shopping behaviors.
However, there is very limited empirical research that explores the impact of subjective
norms on tourists’ purchase decision making and their evaluation of shopping experiences
(Yu and Littrell, 2005). Yu and Littrell (2005) examine the influence of subjective norms on
tourists’ shop/purchase intentions at two types of tourism shopping venues: product- and
process-oriented tourism retail stores. Their research findings suggests subjective norms
significantly influence tourists’ attitude toward products and shopping experiences at retail
stores, which may ultimately affect their shop/purchase intentions. Lehtonen and Maenpaa
(1997) found the pleasure of shopping is derived from the special sociality attached to it.
Shopping itself can often be a time for creating and maintaining social relationships between
workmates, friends, and families. Tourism shopping serves the purpose of sharing time and
pleasure with families and friends during travel, and contributes to the wholeness of tourism
experience.

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Perceived behavioral control. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) is the individual’s
perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior and it reflects past experience as well
as anticipated impediments and obstacles (Ajzen, 1991). Perceived behavior control is
based on the individual’s perceived control belief (ci) and the perceived power (pi) of the
particular belief to facilitate or inhibit performance of the behavior. The summation of the
products of perceived control belief (ci) and the perceived power (pi) across the salient
control beliefs is used to measure perceived behavior control. The control beliefs may be
based in part on past experience with the behavior, but they will usually also be influenced
by second-hand information about the behavior, by the experience of acquaintances and
friends, and by other factors that increase or reduce the perceived difficulty of performing
the behavior in question. The control beliefs are dependent on the particular behavior in
question. In the context of shopping, the control beliefs can be related to the availability of
resources such as time and money and availability of products (Shaw et al., 2007). In tourism
shopping settings, for example, portability is a unique attribute tourists consider when
purchasing souvenirs or other goods during travel (Kim and Littrell, 1999). If the goods are
not portable and difficult to carry back home, tourists tend to decline to purchase such
goods as their choice.
The TPB model (Ajzen, 1991) has been applied to study various consumer behaviors,
including, but not limited to, adoption of non-traditional shopping formats (Lin, 2007;
Mahmood et al., 2009; Xu and Paulins, 2005), consumer loyalty (Lee et al., 2009),
consumption of green/organic products (Arvola et al., 2008), customer return (King et al.,
2008), and ethical consumer behavior (Shaw et al., 2007). The model has been found to be
very successful in predicting consumer behaviors.

Shopping as an impulsive behavior

Even though common wisdom requires consumers to go through the stages of the decision
making process before making purchase decision, consumers often neglect these steps
and shop impulsively. Impulse consumption is a pervasive phenomenon in the marketplace
and has been estimated to account for over $4 billion of annual sales in the US (Mogelonsky,
1998).
A multitude of research studies have been conducted to define, explain and measure
purchase on impulse. Among those, a widely adopted definition is proposed by Rook and
his coauthors (Rook and Hoch, 1985; Rook, 1987; Rook and Gardner, 1993; Rook and Fisher,
1995). According to their research, impulse buying occurs when an individual feels a
sudden, often powerful and persistent desire to make an unintended, unreflective, and
immediate purchase after being exposed to certain stimuli. The purchase is unintended
because it is made while shopping, when the individual is not actively looking for that item,
has no pre-shopping plans to purchase the item, and is not engaged in a shopping task,
such as looking for a gift, which the item satisfies. Unintended buying arises from a sudden
urge to buy a specific item while shopping. Impulse buying is unreflective in that the
purchase is made without engaging in a great deal of evaluation. An impulsive urge toward
action discourages consideration of the behavior’s potential consequences. Impulse buying
is immediate. The time interval between seeing the item and buying is short, and the
decision to buy is made on the spur of the moment.
Impulse buying was originally perceived to be driven by certain marketing techniques and
viewed as negative (Ainslie, 1975; Levy, 1976). Later works have shown that impulse buying
satisfies a number of hedonic desires (Piron, 1993; Rook and Fisher, 1995; Thompson et al.,
1990). Certain products are more likely to be the candidate for products purchased by
impulse buyers. Research on factors influencing consumers’ impulse buying has focused on
the following three perspectives:
1. impulsivity as a personality trait (personal factors);
2. influence of product attributes on the impulse buying behavior (product factors); and
3. influence of situational factors on the impulse buying behavior.

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 Personal factors include consumers’ perception of the appropriateness of impulse behavior,
past experiences (Dittmar et al., 1996), demographic variables (Rook, 1987), self-image
definition and their state of mind when the opportunity to buy arises (Elliott, 1994). Impulse
buying has been consistently linked with mood states (e.g. Hill and Ward, 1989; Rook and
Gardner, 1993; Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982). Interestingly, Rook and Gardner (1993) find
positive mood states are more favorable to impulse buying than negative ones, but also
suggest consumers may use impulse purchasing to extend or alter mood states, for
example, people might buy on impulse in negative moods, as a ‘‘therapeutic mood alteration
tactic’’ (Rook and Gardner, 1993, p. 19). Beatty and Ferrell’s (1998) study suggests impulse
purchasing is closely linked to hedonic consumption and sensory stimulation. Recreational
shoppers, like shoppers motivated by hedonic values, are less likely to have an idea of what
they are going to buy when they go shopping (which suggests greater levels of impulse
purchasing) and spend more time shopping per trip on average (Bellenger and Korgaonkar,
1980).
Product factors are related to the attributes of the product and the presentation of the
product. Past research has reports products with low prices requiring frequent buying and
less product knowledge are more likely to be bought on impulse (Rook and Hoch, 1985;
Cobb and Hoyer, 1986). In addition, Bayley and Nancarrow (1998) argue purchase of
impulse products could also include high-involvement and high price products, such as
jewelry, automobiles and works of art. Kollat and Willett (1967) suggest impulse purchases
are influenced by shelf space and display location, as well as, other product attributes, such
as short shelf life, seasonality, ease of storage and size are related to impulse purchase.
Situational factors emphasize the powerful and persistent urge evokeing impulse buying,
such as store environment and display (Donovan and Rossiter, 1982; Steenkamp et al.,
1996; Xu, 2007). Donovan and Rossiter (1982) suggest store environment, including
ambient, design and social environment, has a significant influence on consumers’ impulse
purchase behavior. Hoch and Loewenstein (1991) suggest the influence of the following
factors: the social ‘‘physical’’ environment setting (e.g. group versus solo buying), the
purchase occasion, or task environment (e.g. gift versus non-gift buying); and temporal
variables (e.g. evening versus daytime purchase). Research has found perceived time
pressure affecting consumers’ impulse purchase (Beatty and Ferrell, 1998; Xu, 2007). In the
tourism settings, Littrell et al. (1994) list the following store attributes desired by tourists:
behavior of the salesperson, atmosphere, display techniques, friendliness and knowledge of
salesperson, and demonstrated craft techniques.
Newby (1993) argues leisure shoppers value differences and the unexpected. Both the
shopping routes and purchasing behaviors are likely to result from opportunities and impulses.
Leisure shopping purchases are made for many motives: an unplanned opportunity, a
memento to prolong the leisure experience, and a gift to show recipients the essence of the
leisure experience. Tourism is often considered to have a close relationship with leisure
shopping, since both involve adventure outside of the everyday sphere of home and work
(Lehtonen and Maenpaa, 1997). Yu and Littrell (2005) suggest some factors heavily impact
tourists’ shopping intentions, such as the people that a person shops with, impulsiveness, and
other situational influence. Many on-site factors could affect the impulse purchase, for example,
conversation with salesperson at the retail store, tour guide’s encouragement, other tourists’
buying behavior, or the time pressure to buy things to get the shopping task accomplished.
With regard to planned and impulse purchases, it is important to note these two types of
buying behavior, in many cases, can interact and mingle with each other. For example,
Baron and Wass (1996) report that while there is evidence of impulse purchasing brought
about by affective response to the airport shopping context, much of the tourists’ browsing
and purchasing behavior is planned in advance of the airport visit as a component of the
trip/holiday. Even though impulse buying has been frequently associated with satisfaction of
emotional needs and are considered as irrational, there are studies focused on the cognitive
perspective of impulse buying. Burroughs (1996) argues the cognitive processes of impulse
buying are particularly important when one considers how consumers map the symbolic
meaning of objects onto conceptions of the self. Moreover, Rook and Hoch (1985) suggest

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customers often engage in ‘‘inner dialogue’’ even at the height of impulse buying episodes.
Therefore, the examination of tourist purchasing behavior should not be dogmatically
divided into sole planned or impulsive act.

Shopping as experiential consumption

The needs that motivate customers to go shopping and purchase merchandise can be
classified as utilitarian or hedonic (Levy and Weitz, 2009). When consumers go shopping to
accomplish a specific task, they are seeking to satisfy utilitarian needs. When consumers go
shopping for pleasure, they are seeking to satisfy their hedonic needs for an entertaining,
emotional, and recreational experience (Levy and Weitz, 2009). Consumers seek different
values from the shopping experience: utilitarian shopping value versus hedonic shopping
values. While utilitarian shopping value is task-oriented and cognitive in nature, hedonic
shopping value is tied to the emotional aspects of the shopping experience (Holbrook and
Hirchman, 1982; Babin et al., 1994).
Wu and Chen (2009) find consumers are influenced by the utilitarian and hedonic
motivations they have toward shopping in their purchase decision-making process. Using a
modified version of the Babin et al.’s (1994) shopping value scale, Teller et al. (2008) find
differences between hedonic shoppers and utilitarian shoppers with regard to
demographic, shopping behavior, and perception of agglomeration characteristics of
retailers. Hedonic shoppers are represented by a higher number of females, earn lower
individual incomes and are less educated compared to utilitarian shoppers. Hedonic
shoppers make more shopping trips to agglomerations, stay there longer, visit more stores,
and are more attracted by agglomerations because of atmosphereic and price stimuli.
When consumers seek high hedonic value from the shopping trip, the shopping and
consumption process involves a steady flow/experience of fantasies, feelings and fun.
Hedonic consumption, also called experiential consumption, designates those facets of
consumer behavior that relate to the multi-sensory, fantasy and emotive aspects of one’s
experience with products (Hirchman and Holbrook, 1982). Hedonic consumption refers to the
experience, usually entertaining and enjoyable, consumers have while buying, consuming, or
processing market offerings (Belk, 1988). Few studies in the tourism literature have examined
the role of hedonic values in determining travel-related attitudes and behavior (Kim and Littrell,
1999). Pitts and Woodside (1986), by using a sample of travelers to in-state weekend travel
attractions, reveal pleasure seeking is an important value in differentiating visitors from
non-visitors to a resort known for sports (cited in Kim and Littrell, 1999). Tourism shopping, as a
leisure pursuit, is anticipated to be influenced by hedonic shopping values.
Hirchman and Holbrook (1982) propose experientially purchased or consumed products
tend to be more emotionally involving than those traditionally examined in consumer
research, and consumers patronage decisions regarding experiential consumption are
based primarily on the symbolic elements of the products rather than their tangible features.
Hirchman and Holbrook (1982) also propose consumers’ sensory emotive stimulation
seeking and cognitive information seeking are two independent dimensions. In other words,
in experiential consumption, consumers seek sensory-emotional and/or cognitive
stimulation. However, emotional desires dominate utilitarian motives in the choice of
products. Similarly, Lofman’s study (1991) finds experiential consumption involves
experiences which seem to diffuse through the consumer’s extended experiential world.
Relative to utilitarian consumption, the consumer is more likely to experience emotional
reactions and to be actively involved in the experience.
By nature, tourism is focused on hedonic and pleasure experience. Shopping experiences
can be viewed as entertainment or recreational by consumers, and the emotional
characteristic of the shopping experiences can be linked to important outcomes such as
increased time spent in the store, increased spending, increased unplanned purchasing
and increased liking of the store (Jones, 1999).
When shopping becomes part of the tourism, an experience seeking endeavor, the
shopping activity becomes a valuable experiential component of tourism. One of the most

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 fascinating aspects of tourism shopping is ‘‘the encounter of the new and the unexpected
and the experience of being ‘somewhere else’’’ (Lehtonen and Maenpaa, 1997, p. 146).
Tourists may enjoy spending time and immersing themselves in the atmosphere the store
creates. Therefore, tourism shopping, as other tourism activities, is essentially experiential
consumption. In the tourism settings, tourist shoppers not only purchase goods, they take
the shopping activity as part of the unique experience during travel, and this part could
impact their overall evaluation of the whole tourism experience. On the other hand, as a
leisure pursuit, tourists’ shopping experiences and spending behaviors can be influenced
by tourists’ moods (Swinyard, 1993). Tourists’ satisfaction with activities other than shopping
during travel (for example, dinning, sightseeing, and entertainment) could possibly
influence their perception and image of the destination and their mood, and consequently
affect their willingness on shopping and the amount of money spent on shopping.

Proposed theoretical framework and propositions

Westbrook and Black (1985) suggest human behavior, including shopping behavior, is the
product of both internal needs states as well as external stimuli. In the shopping context,
consumers follow a planned behavior route to satisfy their internal needs states. At the same
time, they respond impulsively to external stimuli. Consumers not only shop for the products,
but also for the experience of shopping. In other words, consumers may shop for utilitarian
needs, hedonic needs or both. In the context of tourism, tourists look for a break from daily
routine and different experience away from home. Shopping, as part of the tourist activities,
provides an opportunity to satisfy the need of products acquisition as well as the need of
experience seeking. The multiplicity of shopping motives and purchase behaviors are likely
to apply in the context of tourism shopping.
Based on the review and discussion of consumer behavior literature and related tourism
research on shopping behavior, including tourism and shopping, planned behavior, impulse
buying, and experiential consumption, this study proposes a theoretical framework to
systematically examine the nature of tourism shopping behavior (see Figure 1). The authors
propose tourism shopping is a mixture of planned, impulse, and experiential consumption
behavior. In this study, tourist purchase intention is a link between tourist consumers’
reaction to products and their acquisition of the products, i.e. the actual purchase behavior.
Tourists’ purchase intention is proposed to be determined by the combining influences of
planned, impulsive, and experiential consumption factors. Figure 1 summarizes the specific
components of planned behavior (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral
control), impulse buying (store environment and situational factors), and experiential factors
(hedonic shopping value and tourism experience satisfaction), as well as the relationships
between planned, impulsive, experiential consumption behaviors and tourists’ purchase
intention and actual buying behavior.
Based on the discussion of the planned behavior literature and the related tourism shopping
characteristics, the authors propose tourists’ shopping behavior has rational, planned
behavior components. Consumers will systematically use and evaluate information, both
internal and external, to make rational decision with regard to the purchase of products.
Specifically, the authors propose attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral
control, as the three major determinants of the planned behavior of consumers, influencing
tourist shopping intentions.
P1. In the tourism shopping context, planned behavior factors influence tourist
consumers’ purchase intentions.
P1a. Tourist consumers’ attitudes toward the product influences their purchase
intentions in the tourism shopping context.
P1b. Tourist consumers’ subjective norm influences their purchase intentions in the
tourism shopping context.
P1c. Tourist consumers’ perceived behavioral control influences their purchase
intentions in the tourism shopping context.

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Figure 1 Proposed theoretical framework

Tourism shopping, as a leisure activity and part of the tourism experience, is influenced by
many factors that cannot be planned in advance. Tourism shopping activities are exposed to
opportunities and impulses during travel, which may include various factors such as unique
store environment, social interactions with sales associates, tour guide, and other tourists, as
well as others’ purchase behavior in the store. Therefore, to some extent, tourists’ shopping
behaviors can be irrational, spontaneous, and emotional. The authors propose impulsive
behavior components influence tourist purchase intention. Specifically, the authors propose
store environment (ambience and design) and situational factors (e.g. on-site social
interaction, and time pressure) influence tourist shopping intention.
P2. In the tourism shopping context, impulse buying behavior factors influence tourist
consumers’ purchase intentions.
P2a. Store environment influences tourist consumers’ purchase intentions in the tourism
shopping context.
P2b. Situational factors, including on-site social interaction and time pressure at the
store, influence tourist consumers’ purchase intentions in the tourism shopping
context.

In the tourism settings, shopping activities are experiential in nature and are always
considered part of the entire travel experience. Tourists who have various degrees of
hedonic shopping values tend to have different levels of rational versus emotional

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 purchases. To individuals who seek high level hedonic experiences, impulsive behavior may
play a more significant role in tourists’ shopping behavior. On the contrary, planned behavior
will be more dominant in tourists’ shopping behavior when tourists are more
utilitarian-oriented and do not highly involve themselves in hedonic experiences. Tourists’
satisfaction with the travel experience will influence their buying behavior in a similar pattern.
High satisfaction of travel experience may trigger tourists’ impulse purchase behavior;
whereas tourists with low experience satisfaction may become less responsive to situational
stimuli but engage themselves in more rational shopping behaviors. The authors propose
that experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
moderate the relationships between planned, impulsive behavior components and tourist
purchase intention.
P3. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationships between planned and impulsive
behavior factors and tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.
P3a. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationship between attitudes toward the
product and tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.
P3b. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationship between subjective norm and
tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.
P3c. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationship between perceived behavioral
control and tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.
P3d. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationship between store environment and
tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.
P3e. Experiential factors (hedonic shopping values and tourism experience satisfaction)
in the tourism context influence the relationship between situational factors and
tourist consumers’ purchase intentions.

According to O’Keefe (1990), although a person’s behavioral intention is developed prior to

his/her engaging in an action, one’s actual behavior is strongly determined by his/her
behavioral intention. The authors propose that an individual’s shopping intention influences
the actual tourist purchase behavior.
P4. Tourist consumers’ purchase intentions influence their actual buying behaviors.

Conclusion
Tourism retailing, with the development of the ever increasing business of tourism industry, is
a fast-growing and prosperous business with remarkable potentials. The tourism shopping
business opportunities also bring challenges among tourism practitioners and retailers in
how to better understand the tourists’ shopping behavior and capture their buying power (Yu
and Littrell, 2005). This conceptual research attempts to expand the understanding of the
nature of tourist shopping behavior. More specifically, the study explores the influences of
the components of planned behavior, impulse buying behavior, and experiential
consumption on tourists’ intentions to shop/purchase in the tourism context. The
proposed conceptual framework as the outcome of this particular study is an inclusive
overarching structure that explains the nature of tourist shopping behavior. The constructs
and components of the planned behavior, impulse buying behavior, and experiential
consumption are discussed and reviewed based on previous consumer behavior literature
and related tourism research. The authors propose that tourist shopping intention and actual
purchase behavior are influenced by various indicators including planned behavior,
impulsive behavior, and experiential consumption factors. In other words, tourist shopping
behavior is a mixture of planned, impulsive, and experiential consumption behavior.

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The framework is expected to help orient academics to the diverse body of existing literature in
the planned, impulsive, and experiential shopping behavior, and help researchers develop
empirical studies exploring the nature and special characteristics of tourism shopping
experience. For industry practitioners, the study may be used to guide development of
successful tourism shopping experience. This study will help the tourism destination marketers
and retailers in understanding, predicting, and to some degree directing the actual shopping
behavior of tourist consumers. This research is a conceptual study and future studies should
focus on the empirical testing of the framework’s structural relationships, as well as on different
target markets such as the American domestic tourists and major international tourist markets
to the US, including the European markets and booming Chinese tourist market.

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Corresponding author
Fang Meng can be contacted at: FMENG@hrsm.sc.edu

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VOL. 6 NO. 3 2012 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH PAGE 265

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