International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences

Tourist shopping motivation: go with the flow or follow the plan

Malin Sundstrm Christine Lundberg Stavroula Giannakis

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Malin Sundstrm Christine Lundberg Stavroula Giannakis, (2011),"Tourist shopping motivation: go with the
flow or follow the plan", International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Vol. 3 Iss 2 pp. 211 - 224
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Deborah C. Fowler, Jingxue (Jessica) Yuan, Fang Meng, Yingjiao Xu, (2012),"Tourism shopping behavior:
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Vol. 6 Iss 3 pp. 250-265 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181211246401
Joaqun Alegre, Magdalena Cladera, (2012),"Tourist characteristics that influence shopping participation
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223-237 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506181211246375
Melody L.A. LeHew, Scarlett C. Wesley, (2007),"Tourist shoppers' satisfaction with regional shopping mall
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shopping
Tourist shopping motivation: Touristmotivation
go with the flow or follow the plan

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Malin Sundstrom
University of Boras, Boras, Sweden and
Center for Retailing, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

211

Christine Lundberg

stersund, Sweden, and

ETOUR, Mid Sweden University, O

Stavroula Giannakis
University of Boras, Boras, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose The objective of the study is to describe and analyse different tourist shopping typologies
based on their motives for visiting a shopping destination well known for its low prices.
Design/methodology/approach The data were collected by means of structured questionnaires
administered to tourists visiting the Swedish destination. The survey instrument measured constructs
designed to understand shopping motivation and feelings experienced during the course of shopping.
Findings Two distinct tourist shopping typologies were found, based on a tourists primary
purpose in travelling, and designated Follow the Plan and Go with the Flow. The present study
proposes the use of a theoretical continuum that takes into account feelings experienced at a low-priced
destination and consumer shopping motivations.
Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature on tourism shopping by
suggesting typologies built on feelings experienced and shopping motivations, thus providing new
insights on tourist shopping typologies found at a low-price destination. Results are not general for
any low-priced destination, thus further research is needed in other destinations as well.
Keywords Low-priced destination, Shopping motivation, Tourist shopping, Tourist typology, Shopping,
Tourism, Sweden
Paper type Case study

1. Introduction
Tourism and travel is a global phenomenon and has a major impact on the development
of society on many levels. Tourism demand is driven by different motives and one of
them is shopping (Rosenbaum and Spears, 2009), which represents a significant part of
the industrys revenue, as well as that of the retail sector overall (Kent et al., 1983; Turner
and Reisinger, 2001). Shopping, as a tourist activity has increased significantly in recent
years (Westwood, 2006; WTTC, 2010). Numerous studies confirm that it is something
tourists frequently participate in while travelling (Jansen-Verbeke, 1991; Timothy and
Butler, 1995; Hobson, 1998; Law and Au, 2000; Lehto et al., 2004; Rosenbaum and Spears,
2009). According to a recent study, tourists in Sweden spend 80 billion SEK annually on
shopping, representing 13 per cent of total annual retail sales and 30 per cent of all
This project was partly funded by the Swedish Retail Development Council
(Handelns Utvecklingsrad) and European Tourism Research Institute (ETOUR), Mid-Sweden
University.

International Journal of Quality and

Service Sciences
Vol. 3 No. 2, 2011
pp. 211-224
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1756-669X
DOI 10.1108/17566691111146104

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212

tourists spending in Sweden (Svensk Handel, 2010). Despite shopping tourisms

growing importance for its own and related retail industries, research in this area has
lagged behind (Heung and Cheng, 2000; Law and Au, 2000; Moscardo, 2004). To date,
there are a few research fields interested in explaining the phenomenon of shopping
tourism, its causes, and its effects, and how to manage it; the economic, the cultural, the
consumer behavior, and the marketing field. From this research, we know shopping
tourism is a great source of income for the country of a destination, and even at a
local level (Divisekera, 2010) such as specific outlets, supercenters or warehouses. The
importance of cultural differences is also well known, as it will lead to different behavior
(Park and Reisinger, 2009). In addition to this, there are differences in the behavior
according to the frequency and the importance attached to shopping (Park et al., 2009)
and furthermore, to succeed in marketing shopping as a tourist activity, destinations
need to capture culturally determined behavioural patterns and profiles of tourist
shoppers (Park and Reisinger, 2009).
In order to identify and understand different customer profiles, one must focus on
some central questions: why do consumers choose a certain destination, and how do they
experience the destination? This is central to this research, which reports on a Swedish
survey of tourist shoppers and analyzes their motives on the basis of their primary
purpose in travelling (describing and comparing shopping motives and feelings
experienced during their shopping visit). Contemporary knowledge on profiling and
segmentation principles for tourists who shop is mainly built on the assumption that
hedonistic motivation underlies a tourists reason for travelling. However, in the case of
shopping when travelling, hedonistic pleasure might not be the sole or primary reason,
especially when the destination is institutionalized as a low-priced destination. However,
one must not be misled into believing that low-priced destinations only attract visitors
who are bargain hunters. Previous research has shown that the attractiveness of a
destination is determined by both price and non-price factors (Dwyer et al., 2000). The
objective of the study is to describe and analyse different tourist shopping typologies
based on their motives for visiting a Swedish shopping destination well known for its
low prices.
2. Literature on tourist and consumer profiling
According to Dholakia (1999), three main motives for shopping can be found:
utilitarian, family or social interaction, and shopping as an enjoyable activity. Current
research on tourists who shop has identified two categories of travellers on the basis of
motivation theory, and has used terms that initially appear to be perplexing inversions
of one another to describe them: shopping tourists and tourism shoppers. The first
category consists of tourists with shopping as their primary reason for travelling. The
second category consists of tourists who have other primary reasons for travelling, but
who engage in shopping as an incidental activity during their trip (Timothy, 2005).
Shopping tourists can be categorized on the basis of which factors influence their
behavior. Thus, they can be described from a product, destination, or price viewpoint.
The first group of shopping tourists travel in pursuit of specific products or luxury
goods, well-known brands, and souvenirs, i.e. premium products that give social status
to the buyer (Park et al., 2009). The second is attracted by well-known shopping
regions, thematic shopping, and celebrated shopping malls, i.e. the destination
itself is the attraction. The third group is motivated by high prices at home

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and low prices at the tourist generating destination, they are so-called price hunters
or bargain seekers (Timothy, 2005).
In marketing research, consumer motivations are often categorised in terms of
shopping typologies (Wagner, 2007). In its most basic form, consumer typologies are
divided into rational (utilitarian) and hedonistic categories (Bellenger and Korgaonkar,
1980), thus providing a theoretical basis for understanding a shoppers underlying
social, experiential, and utilitarian needs (Wagner, 2007). Tourist typologies, on the
other hand, are based almost exclusively on such hedonistic motivations as relaxation,
play, self- or wish-fulfilment (Ryan, 1993), and seeking personal and interpersonal
rewards and escape (Pearce, 1988).
2.1 Hedonistic consumption
Taubers (1972) seminal article on shopping motivation stated that different
consumer typologies are based on either personal or social motives. He argued
that shoppers may be driven by reasons other than purchasing, such as role-playing,
diversion, self-gratification, and the pleasure of bargaining. These insights provided
management with marketing strategies using motivation theory, such as store
differentiation (Tauber, 1972; Westbrook and Black, 1985), which took stimulation,
affiliation, and cognition (i.e. decision making) into consideration.
In consumer research, hedonistic consumption has become one of the theoretical tools
for probing why and how people shop. It is a concept derived from inquiries into the
esthetical, intangible, and subjective aspects of consumption (Hirschman, 1980;
Holbrook, 1980; Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). Hedonistic consumption was separated
from want-based reasons and referred to as those facets of consumer behaviour that
relate to the multi-sensory, imaginative, and emotive aspects of ones experience with
products (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982, p. 92). Recently, the quest for hedonistic
consumption is widespread and often associated with fantasies, feelings, and enjoyment,
as well as the role of the individual in his/her own hedonistic experience (Hopkinson and
Pujari, 1999). Consequently, many retailers have recognised a company must go beyond
satisfying their customers and now strive to delight them. Shopping that produces
delight generates high levels of emotion by providing unexpectedly pleasant
experiences (Arnold et al., 2005). The result in the case of a customer motivated by
hedonism who finds shopping to be delightful may be strong repurchasing intentions
(Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Oliver et al., 1997), and positive word-of-mouth
recommendations to others (Arnold et al., 2005).
2.2 Utilitarian needs
As opposed to hedonistic consumption, utilitarian motives for shopping are evaluated
on the basis of rational purchasing decisions and the functional needs of customers.
Factors of convenience, price, and quality here predominate (Genuens et al., 2002).
In such cases knowledge is often acquired with the help of information-processing
models. Although it is commonly considered problematic to separate rational reasons
for purchasing (i.e. utility) from hedonistic motives, consumer typologies frequently
are built on such a dichotomy.
Stone (1954) introduced the concept of shopping orientations in order to characterize
consumers according to their lifestyles, interests, and opinions. His argument
was that some shoppers are largely concerned with buying (economic shoppers),

Tourist shopping
motivation

213

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214

while others focus more on socializing (personalizing shoppers) (Stone, 1954).

Pioneer work in the area of consumer decision making and segmenting customers was
conducted by Sproles and Kendall (1986). They profiled consumers according to
different shopping styles and consciousness, namely:
.
perfectionism or high-quality consciousness;
.
brand consciousness;
.
novelty or fashion consciousness;
.
recreational, hedonistic shopping consciousness;
.
price and value for the money shopping consciousness;
.
impulsiveness;
.
confused by over-choice; and
.
habitual, brand-loyal orientation toward consumption.
The study of consumer decision making in retail has a fairly long history. It focuses on
substantiating the existence of styles of thinking applied to consumer shopping
(Wesley et al., 2006).
In an attempt to summarise the motivational typologies in shopping, Westbrook
and Black (1985) concluded that motives fell into three categories: product-oriented,
experiential, and mixed. Product-oriented consumers have a need or a desire to acquire
specific product information. The experiential consumer has a hedonistic or
recreational orientation and is viewed holistically, based on the pleasure derived
from the shopping visit itself (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980). Finally, the combined
category integrates product and experiential elements in an attempt to do justice to the
mixed motives that may compel consumers to shop (Dawson et al., 1990).
2.3 Tourist typologies and tourism shopping
From the perspective of consumer behavior studies, tourist purchasing differs from
everyday ordinary buying behavior. The fundamental difference appears to be that
travelling is perceived as an extraordinary time when individuals do things other than
work by taking a break from their normal routine (Crompton, 1979). In tourism literature,
these individuals have been categorised according to the roles they exhibit while on
vacation, such as adventurer, thrill seeker, explorer, drifter, or escapist (Foo et al., 2004).
These roles, derived from different motivations, are closely related to hedonistic
consumer behavior (Arnold and Reynolds, 2003; Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982).
According to Timothy (2005), there are a number of variables that distinguish
tourist shopping and leisure shopping from utilitarian purchasing and consumption.
These have been considered as intrinsic and external variables. The former consist of
demographic and psychographic characteristics, personal needs, cultural background,
and expected or perceived outcomes. By contrast, external variables are related to the
destination and its characteristics, in addition to customer service, retail management,
price differentials, and product-related attributes.
Besides the three groups of general factors (product, destination, and price) that
influence shopping as a motivation for travel, as noted earlier, a number of other
elements that condition tourist shopping behavior also have been identified: the desire
for personal keepsakes and memories, a quest for authenticity, novelty-seeking,

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the discomfort of boredom or excessive time on ones hands, the wish to buy gifts for
people at home, and altruism.

Tourist shopping
motivation

3. Research method
Driving this study was the question of whether there might be any differences between
tourist shoppers and shopping tourists visiting a low-priced destination. The data were
collected by means of structured questionnaires administered to tourists at the site
investigated. The survey instrument measured constructs designed to understand
shopping motivation and feelings experienced during a shopping visit.

215

3.1 The shopping destination and its visitors

Sweden consists of approximately nine million inhabitants. The shopping destination
we studied is located in a small community of 800 inhabitants in the western part of
Sweden that is invaded every day by visitors descending upon the location. The major
attraction for these visitors is GeKas, a department store famous for its low prices.
Its turnover in 2008 was close to 300 million USD, making it the largest store of its kind
in the Nordic countries. The total number of visitors in the same year was close to
four million. On a weekly basis, it draws an average of 40,000 to 90,000 customers,
depending on the season. GeKas has more than 1,000 employees and occupies over
20,000 square meters of a two-storey building with an occupancy rating of 4,000 people.
During the high season in the summertime, visitors line up to enter four to five days a
week. Parking for over 2,000 cars and at least 50 busses is available, and a double-level
parking facility opened in the summer of the year 2009. Commercial bus trips to the
area are regularly scheduled from 307 towns in Sweden (GeKas Ullared AB, 2009).
In addition, the Swedish National Railway (SJ) offers chartered trips from Stockholm.
Owing to the success of GeKas, many other retailers have opened stores at the same
location. Visitors can shop in an array of outlets for clothing, shoes, and home
electronics, as well as eat in restaurants and cafes (Starn, 2009).
According to yearly conducted market research at the destination, the average
visitor is a woman approximately 42 years old. She has travelled between 200 and
290 kilometres by car with some female friends. She normally visits the destination
once or twice a year, and spends an average of 500 USD each time. During the past two
years, the behavior of the typical female visitor has changed. Earlier, she would take a
day off from work in order to combine an enjoyable outing with shopping for bargains.
Todays customer seems to be focused almost exclusively on goods and purchases
(GFK Sverige AB, 2008).
3.2 Sample
Data were gathered over a period of five days in June and another five days in July 2009
by structured, self-administrated questionnaires. Researchers visited the destination
during the specified periods to distribute survey forms. In order to ensure anonymity,
no contact details were requested. Respondents from foreign countries were interviewed
in English, rather than being given the questionnaire in Swedish to fill out. A total of
300 survey forms were distributed but, due to incomplete answers, 267 valid
questionnaires were returned. The internationally accepted definition of tourists as
people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for leisure,
business and other purposes (NUTEK, 2007, p. 4) was employed. Day tourists,

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216

as well as those staying overnight, were included. No attempt was made to ensure an
even distribution of sex or age. After sorting the completed questionnaires, another
44 were eliminated because the respondents lived less than 100 kilometres from the
destination and did thus not qualify as day tourists. The sample analysed consisted thus
of 227 respondents.
3.3 Data collection and analysis
The questionnaire asked for such demographic and personal information as reasons
for visiting the location, quality of experience during the visit, positive or negative
associations with the destination, and variables contributing to shopping delight.
Respondents were divided into two groups, based on their primary reason for
travelling, as follows:
(1) shopping tourists (i.e. those who had primarily travelled to the destination to
shop); and
(2) tourist shoppers (i.e. those who had come to pursue other tourist activities, with
shopping being secondary).
These categorizations are based on previously presented definitions of the two groups.
The sample consisted of 115 respondents in the shopping tourist category and 112 in
the tourist shopper category. The material was analysed by means of descriptive
statistics. The two groups were compared using cross tabulations and tested for
significance with Pearsons x 2 test.
4. Findings
The findings indicated that the average visitors main reasons for their visit were price
and product related (e.g. the possibility of getting a bargain and the chance to explore a
wide variety of goods). This was the main reason among all respondents irrespective of
their belongingness to the two groups (i.e. shopping tourists or tourist shoppers). As can
be seen in Table I, female respondents were in majority in the total sample (78.4 per cent
women and 23.5 per cent men). This distribution of gender is similar to the findings of the
annual market research survey conducted at the destination (GFK Sverige AB, 2008) and
could be described as a normal audit. The average shopper was 41 years old and
generally married (84.1 per cent). Regarding income, 75.2 per cent had an annual salary
between 28,400 and 56,680 USD. Shopping trips to the location were generally made in
the company of family or friends and the majority of shoppers were repeat visitors
(75.3 per cent). The average purchase was 370 USD. Asked what they associated with
their visit to the destination, they replied enjoyable shopping (42.3 per cent), shopping
and low prices (18.5 per cent), GeKas (the main retailer) (16.3 per cent), and low
prices (15.0 per cent). The majority of the respondents gave escapism as what
represented an enjoyable shopping trip for them.
Findings presented in Table II show that shopping motivation could be identified as
either utilitarian/rational (57.7 per cent) or hedonistic (35.7 per cent). A majority of
the shoppers stated that they experienced a delightful or fun feeling when shopping
at the location. A minority of respondents reported feeling bad or terrible. Overall,
the sample presents a picture of tourists who chose to shop at the destination for
rational/utilitarian motives and, at the same time, enjoy themselves.

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Variable

Scale

Gender

Women
Men
Year
Married
Alone
With family
With friends
Other

Tourist shopping
motivation

All samples
78.4
21.6
41.0
84.1
3.1
81.1
11.9
3.9
75.3

per cent
per cent
Age (mean)
(s 11.93462, range 60)
Marital status
per cent
Shopping companion
per cent
per cent
per cent
per cent
Previously visited
per cent
Total purchase
USD
370
Associations with destination
Enjoyable shopping 42.3 per cent
Shopping and low
prices
18.5 per cent
Queues
2.2 per cent
Camping
0.4 per cent
Shopping
1.8 per cent
GeKas
16.3 per cent
Stress
0.9 per cent
Wide selection
2.2 per cent
Low prices
15 per cent
Other
0.4 per cent
Associations with an enjoyable shopping trip Sun lover
2.6 per cent
Organized mass
0.4 per cent
Educational
3.5 per cent
Explorer
4.8 per cent
Escapist
60.8 per cent
Other
27.8 per cent
Note: n 227

Variable

Scale

Shopping motives

Utilitarian/rational
Hedonistic
Other
Delightful
Fun
Not fun/not bad
Bad
Terrible

Experience of the destination

217

Table I.
Descriptive statistics
of the total tourist
sample characteristics

All samples (%)

57.7
35.7
6.8
57.7
27.8
10.6
1.8
0.4

Note: n 227

4.1 Comparing the groups: shopping tourists and tourist shoppers

When comparing the two tourist groups based on their primary purpose for travelling
(Table III), significant differences in income can be seen. The tourist shopper has a
higher yearly income. These results were calculated by cross-tabulation and checked for
significance with the x 2 test and a p-value 0.000, df 3 and a x 2 value 32.209.
There was also a difference in age and marital status: the tourist shopper was older

Table II.
Descriptive statistics
of the total sample:
shopping motivation
and experiences

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Table III.
Comparison between
the shopping tourist
and the tourist shopper:
demographics

( p-value 0.000, df 6, x 2 value 37.612) and more often married ( p-value 0.005,
df 6, x 2 value 7.958). The shopping tourist more often visits the destination
with friends ( p-value 0.000, df 2, x 2 value 19.751), while shopping with family is
still the most common pattern in both groups.
As shown in Table IV, the tourist shopper stated utilitarian motives (68.8 per cent),
while the shopping tourist reported utilitarian (47 per cent) and hedonistic motives
(46.1 per cent).
The difference is statistically significant (Table V), which leads us to infer that tourist
shoppers have significantly greater utilitarian/rational shopping motives when visiting
the destination. Surprisingly and not coherent with a rational shopper, the associations
with the destination made by the tourist shopper, are more likely to be enjoyable
shopping.
The findings presented in Table VI show a difference between the two groups
regarding their feelings at the destination. The tourist shopper has a tendency to feel
greater delight, as compared to the shopping tourist, who simply experiences the
destination as fun. This difference cannot be statistically proven because the sample
exhibits too many respondents in the positive range and too few in the negative range,
resulting in four cells (40 per cent) having less than five as an expected count. It is,
therefore, likely that a larger sample would have resulted in a significant difference.

Variable

Scale

Age (mean)
Marital status
Income (mode)

Year

Shopping
companion

USD
Alone
With family
With friends
Other

The tourist shopper

(%) (n 112)

39.7 (s 13.33691, range 61) 42.3 (s 10.16762, range 59)

77.4
91.1
35,510-42,470
42,610-49,570
2.6
3.6
69.6
92.9
20.0
3.6
7.8
0.0

Variable

Scale

Shopping motives

Utilitarian/rational
Hedonistic
Other
Enjoyable shopping
Shopping and low prices
Lines
Camping
Shopping
GeKas
Stress
Wide selection
Low prices
Other

Associations made with

the destination
Table IV.
Comparison between the
shopping tourist and the
tourist shopper: shopping
motives and associations
with the destination

The shopping tourist (%)

(n 115)

The shopping tourist

(%) (n 115)

The tourist shopper

(%) (n 112)

47.0
46.1
6.9
27.0
27.0
1.7
0.9
1.7
18.3
0.0
3.5
20.0
0.0

68.8
25.0
6.2
58.0
9.8
2.7
0.0
1.8
14.3
1.8
0.9
9.8
0.9

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4.2 Important factors when visiting the destination

The survey also asked about variables that affected the overall feelings that people
experienced at the shopping destination. Significant differences were found with
regard to the following factors (Table VII):
(1) neatness and cleanliness of shopping destination;
(2) lines at the registers;
(3) lines at the stores; and
(4) activities for everyone in the shoppers group.

Tourist shopping
motivation

219

To most shoppers in general, queues are associated with a negative feeling. However,
this data show the tourist shoppers to be an exception. They stated that they perceived
a delightful shopping experience, when having to queue both to get in the store and at
the registers. This indicates that the tourist shopper were not as rational as the visitor
with the primarily aim to shop. The shopping tourists on the other hand, stated that
they perceived a delightful shopping experience if they found a neat and clean
shopping destination with activities for everyone in the group.
5. Conclusions and implications
Shopping is considered one of the oldest activities associated with tourism
(Genuens et al., 2004). Our findings support the importance of understanding
shopping as a tourist activity. In seeking a typology of shoppers based on the shopping
Variable
Motives for shopping
Associations with the destination

Missing

df

x2

227
227

0
0

2
4

11.783
26.441

0.003
0.000

Variable

Scale

Feeling at the destination

Delightful
Fun
Not fun/not bad
Bad
Terrible

Variable
Lines at the registers
Lines at the store
Neatness and cleanliness of shopping destination
Activities for everyone in my group

The shopping tourist

(%) (n 115)

The tourist shopper

(%) (n 112)

46.1
37.4
13.0
1.7
0.9

70.3
18.0
8.1
1.8
0.0

Table V.
Motives for shopping and
associations with the
destination: significance

Table VI.
Feelings at the
destination during visit

Missing

df

x2

227
227
227
227

0
0
0
0

4
4
4
4

42.229
80.728
37.905
51.680

0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000

Table VII.
Significant differences:
lines, neatness
and cleanliness
of the destination,
activities for everyone

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tourist and the tourist shopper, we took into account shopping motivation, experiences
during the visit, and significant variables that help create shopping delight. A deeper
understanding of why tourists visit low-priced shopping destinations could provide
practitioners with useful insights on segmenting the market, choose the target
group(s), and work with the destinations positioning. These insights could in turn be
valuable in different strategic decisions such as differentiation, penetration or market
development.
5.1 The shopping tourist as follow the plan
The shopping tourist does not take delight in shopping on a level comparable to the
tourist shopper, although the shopping tourist states shopping motives that are both
hedonistic and rational/utilitarian. This would suggest that the segment acts in
accordance with planned purchasing they follow their predestined plan. We have
designated such a typology Follow the Plan. Typical characteristics of this group are:
.
Their motives for shopping at a low-priced destination are both rational and
hedonistic.
.
Their associations with the destination are shopping and low prices, i.e. they
are tourists with clear expectations of the destinations promise.
.
Their feelings during the visit are described as fun.
.
They do not like lines in the store(s) or at the registers.
.
They do not consider neatness or cleanliness important to their overall shopping
experience.
.
They do not find it necessary to find activities for everyone in their group at the
destination.
5.2 The tourist shopper as Go with the Flow
The tourist shopper, on the other hand, tends to feel delighted while shopping at the
destination, although he/she gives rational/utilitarian motives as the principal reasons
for shopping. They tend to have less clear expectations and explore the destination as
it comes. This typology is here referred to as Go with the Flow. Typical
characteristics of this group are:
.
Their motive for shopping at a low-priced destination is rational.
.
Their association with the destination is enjoyable shopping, thus leading us to
characterize this group as tourists with a less clear expectation of the
destinations promise, other than an enjoyable outing.
.
Their feelings during the visit can be summarized as delighted.
.
Lines in the store or at the registers do not influence their feelings negatively.
.
They value a neat and clean shopping destination and activities for everyone in
their group as contributing to a delightful shopping experience.
5.3 A continuum
The findings and suggestions of these tourist typologies (Follow the Plan and Go with
the Flow) may be placed on a continuum between the points of utilitarian and hedonistic
shopping motives together with feelings of delight vs a terrible shopping experience.

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In accordance with earlier research (Ryan, 1993), tourism-shopping typologies are often
built on hedonistic motives. Our study of a low-priced destination indicates that this is
not always viable. Tourists categorized as Follow the Plan exhibit shopping motives
founded on utility and hedonism, thus supporting the idea that typologies could embrace
varying motives (Bellenger and Korgaonkar, 1980; Wagner, 2007). The same findings
apply to the Go with the Flow group. As we have seen, Westbrook and Black (1985),
together with Dawson et al. (1990), presented underlying motives which fall into
three categories: product-oriented, experiential, and a combination of product and
experiential. The present study suggests a use of a theoretical continuum of tourist
shopping profiling that takes feelings into consideration along with shopping motives.
According to Arnold et al. (2005), a delightful shopping experience generates high levels
of emotion a desirable outcome for both tourist typologies. Some might seek an
enjoyable time, others a rational stay, but all of them strive to experience something that
delights them. A tourist visiting a low-priced location is probably easier to satisfy if that
tourist has a primary goal other than the destination itself. However, another tourist
going to the same destination whose primary reason is to shop should be served
according to the promise of the destination: if that is low prices, then the promise must be
fulfilled.
A limitation to the study and its findings is the suggested tourist profiling groups
cannot be treated as general to a low-priced destination. However, the results could be
useful in further research on similar destinations. Then results might develop and
validate a model of tourist shopping typologies visiting low-priced destinations. Such a
model could be of use if wanting to know if there might be any differences between
tourist shoppers and shopping tourists visiting a luxury goods market.
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relationship of the consumption experience to reasons for purchasing, European Journal
of Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 8, pp. 49-62.

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About the authors

Malin Sundstrom is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Boras, Sweden. Her
research, which focuses on e-commerce, retailing, and consumer behavior, has been influenced
by the presence of a successful mail-order industry in the region. She is the recipient of a
two-year Swedish Retail Development Council postdoctoral fellowship, and is an associate of the
Center for Retailing at the University of Gothenburg. Malin Sundstrom is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: malin.sundstrom@hb.se
Christine Lundberg is a Researcher and Lecturer in Marketing at Mid-Sweden Universitys
European Tourism Research Institute. Her research interests include services marketing
management, seasonal tourism, critical incidents, and service encounters.
Stavroula Giannakis is a PhD Candidate in Marketing at the University of Boras, Sweden.
Her research focuses on service representatives in customer interactions.

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