Assessing mainland Chinese visitors' satisfaction with shopping in Taiwan

Abstract

Shopping has been identified as one of the major activities undertaken by tourists during their travels. It is also a well-known fact that tourist shopping both contributes to the target area's local economy and has significant implications for local retail development. This study intends to identify the satisfaction attributes of shopping among Mainland Chinese visitors to Taiwan and assess their relative importance in affecting the overall level of satisfaction with shopping in Taiwan. A structured questionnaire was developed following a comprehensive review of the current related literature. Personal interviews using convenient sampling methods were conducted at both the Chiang Kai-Shek and Kaohsiung International Airports. This study only included samples of visiting Mainland Chinese professional groups in Taiwan. A total of 185 usable questionnaires were collected, with a usability rate of 84.86%. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, paired t-test, factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that, among the 20 attributes identified, visitors were only satisfied with “providing home delivering service”, and were least satisfied with eight attributes, including “commemoration of the product”, “uniqueness of the product” and “price of product”. Through factor analysis, four shopping dimensions were identified from among the 20 attributes. Multiple regression analysis was employed to investigate and assess the relative impact of tourists' perceptions of shopping attributes that influence their overall level of shopping satisfaction in Taiwan. The study concludes with a discussion of possible research limitations, suggestions for future research, and recommendations for how policy-making bodies and shopping retailers might work together to make the Taiwanese shopping environment more palatable to future Mainland Chinese visitors.