Profiling Chinese Fashion Shoppers in Beijing: Mall Activities, Shopping Outcome, and Demographics

Abstract

China’s burgeoning consumer market has drawn increased attentionfrom the global business community. With the Chineseeconomy boasting an average growth rate of 9.9% per yearsince 1981, the country’s retail sales continue to gainmomentum. In 2006, China’s retail revenue totalled about $860billion-the seventh-largest market in the world-and this figureis projected to grow to $2.4 trillion by 2020 (Special Report:Ready for Warfare, 2006). The red-hot Chinese market has attractedglobal retailers and property developers who are keento seize this unprecedented opportunity. Foremost among suchretail development in China since the late 1980s is the emergenceof modern regional and mega shopping centers (Li,Zhou, and Zhuang, 2003). While the concept of the shopping mall is quite differentfrom traditional retail practices in China, Chinese people haveembraced the convenience of mall shopping (Chen, 2007). During the recent global financial crisis, Chinese consumers’spending power has become a major driver of the country’seconomic growth, even as the developed world’s own economiescontinue to struggle (Cavender, 2010). Nevertheless, misconceptionsabout Chinese shoppers are prevalent (Cavender,2010) and few studies focus on Chinese consumer behavior ina shopping mall environment (Li et al., 2003). This study intendsto fill the gap and to expand the understanding ofChinese mall shoppers. Specifically, the researcher exploredsegmentation of mall shoppers by fashion orientation, and examinedshopping values, mall activities, expenditures, and demographiccharacteristics across the segments. The researcher used an intercept survey method for data collectionin a newly established mega shopping mall in Beijingwhose clientele fits middle to upper class profiles. Trainedgraduate students collected data using a mall intercept surveyprocedure adapted from Sudman (1980). A total of 296 completedquestionnaires were included in the data analysis. Thesample consisted of 87 male (29.0%) and 209 female (69.7%)shoppers. About 30% were between the ages of 18-25, 11%were 41-60 years of age, and the rest (57%) were 26-40 yearsof age. The majority (66.3%) had earned a Bachelor’s degree;61.3% were employed; and about 4% were retired. The questionnaire included items measuring fashion orientation(Gutman and Mills, 1982), shopping value (Babin,Darden, and Griffin, 1994), mall activities (Bloch, Ridgway,and Dawson, 1994), as well as other demographic informationand total customer expenditures during the mall visit. Thequestionnaire was translated into Chinese and back-translatedinto English by bilingual experts to ensure validity. Exploratoryfactor analyses using principle component extraction and varimaxrotation were performed on fashion orientation and shoppingvalue. Cluster analysis using fashion orientation as thevariable included three steps: Firstly, hierarchical cluster analysisusing Ward’s method was conducted; secondly, K-meanscluster analysis was performed with the cluster centers fromthe hierarchical results as the initial seed points; and finally,ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to compare across theclusters. Factor analysis on fashion orientation resulted in three factors:Fashion Interest and Leadership (alpha=.92); Importanceof Being Well-Dressed (alpha=.83); and Anti-Fashion Attitude(alpha=.48). Factor analysis on shopping value scale yieldedtwo dimensions: Hedonic Value (alpha=.81) and UtilitarianValue (alpha=.50). Items with alpha coefficients above 0.70 areconsidered acceptable in reliability and they were summated intoa single score; for those with alpha coefficients lower than0.70, a single item with the highest factor loading was used torepresent the factor dimension in further analyses (Jin andKim, 2003). Cluster analysis suggests three clusters: Fashion Leaders(N=74, 26.7%); Independents (N=105, 37.9%); and Uninvolveds(N=98, 35.4%). These groups partially matched Gutman andMills’s (1982) findings on clothing fashion lifestyle segments. ANOVA and Chi-square tests show significant group differencesin shopping value, mall activities, and the groups’ demographicprofiles. Results indicate that the Fashion Leaders and Independentsderived a significantly higher level of hedonic value than theUninvolveds. The Uninvolveds and Fashion Leaders derived asignificantly higher level of utilitarian value from shopping atthe mall than the Independents. With regards to mall activities,the three groups were similar in consumption of the mall (e.g.,walking in the mall for exercise), passing time, and consumptionof services, but were significantly different in consumptionof products; in particular, the Fashion Leaders andIndependents made more unplanned purchases than theUninvolveds. In terms of demographics, the Fashion Leadersand Independents groups had larger percentages of females,while the Uninvolveds group had nearly equal representation of male and female shoppers. The Fashion Leaders andIndependents were relatively younger and included more respondentswith Bachelor’s degrees. The Uninvolveds weremore likely to be employed or retired. Total expenditure duringthe mall visit and monthly income levels were not significantlydifferent among the three groups. Based on the findings,implications for mall developers and retailers arediscussed.