Exploring factors influencing shopping experiences of international tourists in Bangkok's Department stores and malls

Abstract

This study examines factors influencing the shopping experiences of international tourists in Bangkok's department stores and malls, focusing on tourists from the top 10 high-spending countries: India, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea. An adapted Tourist Satisfaction Index (TSI), tailored to the Bangkok shopping context, is then used to measure satisfaction along dimensions of product quality, price and value, store atmosphere, convenience and culturally appropriate customer service. Questionnaires were collected from 409 tourists at leading department stores in Bangkok. Descriptive statistics, T-tests, multiple regression and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to investigate the relationships and differences in the impact of factors on tourist satisfaction. Results show that product quality, price and convenience are the primary factors determining the tourist’s satisfaction which in turn is a driver for the destination being loyal. The study also emphasises that improvements to service culturally should be implemented to meet the tourists from Russia and China, thus improving the overall shopping for these groups in general. Application of this research has strategic implications for retail and tourism development in Bangkok. Those insights can be used to improve shopping experience for high spending international tourists. These findings put forth a set of actions for retail and tourism stakeholders to unify products and services with expectations of various visitor profiles to deliver a positive shopping experience, thereby cementing Bangkok’s reputation as a world-class shopping destination.