Attracting Chinese Tourists to Norwegian Retailers

Master's thesis in international hospitality managementIn today's economy, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are facing a set of challenges. On the other hand, the tourism industry has given great impact on the retail industry as shopping is one of the major activities during a trip. This is particularly so during outbound trips, as previous studies indicate that international tourists spend much more money on shopping. China is leading the outbound tourism market in the world both in tourists’ numbers and travel expenditure. Under this circumstance, like all other destinations, Norway's tourism industry is also benefiting from the enormous number of Chinese tourists. Previous research has mostly studied outbound Chinese tourists’ shopping behaviors in those traditional tourism destinations, however, very limited research so far has interpreted such shopping behaviors in Norway. Hence, the goal of this study is to fill this knowledge gap and further explore how Norwegian retail industry can align its strategies toward Chinese tourists. An online survey questionnaire with open-ended questions was conducted and a combination of convenience sampling method and snowball sampling method was employed in this study. A total of 49 respondents participated in the survey and the collected data was interpreted by thematic analysis. Building on the existing theories, this study demonstrates a series of Chinese tourists’ shopping behaviors in Norway, and the main findings include Chinese culture is reflected 4 in shopping behaviors, and practical goods with high quality and Norwegian unique features are the most popular items that Chinese tourists wish to purchase in Norway. A series of important factors were also found which can attract Chinese tourists into a store. As a summary, a series of Chinese tourists’ shopping behaviors and expectations are demonstrated. This study shows that overall, Chinese tourists are satisfied with their shopping experience in Norway, and for those who are planning to travel to Norway, they also show positive attitude towards shopping in this country. However, this study also finds that there is still a lack of marketing strategies for Norwegian retail industry to expand the target market. Specific marketing approaches are suggested. Finally, this study concludes with a discussion of implications for researchers and Norwegian retail practitioner