eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

OBJECTIVES:

The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of the factors influencing customer behavior in airport retailing environment. More specifically, the focus is on Asian customers visiting the Finnair Tax-Free Shop at Helsinki Airport. The aim of the study is to find out how shopping motivations are affected by time pressure and impulse buying tendency, as both are factors related strongly to the shopping in the airport environment.

METHODS:

The study draws on existing research about shopping motivations and the typical characters of airport shopping. Empirical research was conducted to test the hypotheses about relation between shopping motivations and affecting factors. Empirical data was collected by a questionnaire to Asian customers in the Finnair Tax-Free Shop in Helsinki Airport. The data was studied with multiple analytical tools including exploratory factor analysis, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis.

KEY FINDINGS:

The findings of the study give partial support to the hypotheses tested in the study and show that both the time pressure and impulse buying tendency act affect the shopping motivations and purchase behavior in some extent. The results vary between the product groups. Time pressure has more effect when it comes to the purchases of special items of higher monetary value. Impulse buying tendency moderates the shopping motivation and purchase intentions in souvenir category. No significant differences can be found between the two nationalities - Chinese and Japanese passengers participating in the study. However, the findings revealed that there are some differences when it comes to shoppers' gender as well as to the reason why the purchase is made.