From Malls to Markets: What Makes Shopping Irresistible for Chinese Tourists?

Yutong Liang, Shuyue Huang () and Hwansuk Chris Choi
Additional contact information
Yutong Liang: School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Shuyue Huang: Business and Tourism Department, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS B3M 2J6, Canada
Hwansuk Chris Choi: School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Tourism and Hospitality, 2025, vol. 6, issue 4, 1-25

Abstract: This study investigates how multidimensional value and experience quality shape satisfaction and loyalty in shopping tourism. We extend the QVSL tradition by (i) specifying three hedonic value dimensions (entertainment, exploration, escapism), (ii) differentiating functional value into performance-oriented and money-saving facets, and (iii) incorporating epistemic value and experience quality as additional antecedents. We also model immediate behavioral outcomes (i.e., money spent and time spent) and test involvement as a moderating condition. Using path analysis on data from 413 mainland Chinese tourists in Japan, findings confirm that entertainment, functional value (for performance and money), epistemic value, and experience quality enhance shopping satisfaction. Functional values, epistemic value, and satisfaction drive destination loyalty. Money and time spent are additional outcomes of satisfaction. Involvement moderates the link between satisfaction and money spent. These insights offer strategic implications for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and retailers to optimize shopping environments and employee services, increasing tourist satisfaction, loyalty, and both time and money spent in the competitive shopping tourism market. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the use of composite-indicator path analysis; future research could apply longitudinal or full SEM approaches, broaden contexts, and test additional constructs.

Keywords: shopping tourism; multidimensional value; shopping satisfaction; destination loyalty; involvement; time and money spent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Z3 Z30 Z31 Z32 Z33 Z38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/4/216/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5768/6/4/216/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jtourh:v:6:y:2025:i:4:p:216-:d:1772534

Access Statistics for this article

Tourism and Hospitality is currently edited by Mr. Philip Li

More articles in Tourism and Hospitality from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().