INVESTIGATING AIRPORT SHOPPERS’ BUYING BEHAVIORS AND ...

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Volume 20, Issue 49, December 2020 45

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS:

the International Journal

ISSN 2406-1069

Article history:

Received 18th

December 2020

Accepted 27th

January 2021

Available online 30th

January 2021

Article citation info: Ünder, U., Atalık, Ö., Investigating airport shoppers’ buying behaviors and satisfaction at

duty free shops: impact of demographic and travel related factors. Transport & Logistics: the International

Journal, 2020; Volume 20, Issue 49, December 2020, ISSN 2406-1069

INVESTIGATING AIRPORT SHOPPERS’ BUYING BEHAVIORS AND

SATISFACTION AT DUTY FREE SHOPS: IMPACT OF

DEMOGRAPHIC AND TRAVEL RELATED FACTORS1

Ümran Ünder1, Özlem Atalık

2

1 Eskişehir Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Eskişehir, Turkey,

e-mail: [email protected]

2 Eskişehir Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Eskişehir, Turkey,

e-mail: [email protected]

1 This study is based on the Master's thesis of Ümran Ünder under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Özlem Atalık.

Abstract:

The commercialization brought about by deregulation and liberalization has led

airports to look for new ways to increase non-aeronautical revenue. With the increase in

commercial activities at airports, the customer portfolio of airports, limited to airline

passengers in the past, has expanded and diversified considerably. In such an environment,

the investigation of airport shoppers' buying behaviours has become significant. In this

study, it is aimed to examine the factors affecting the buying behaviour and satisfaction of

customers at duty free stores. For this purpose, 725 questionnaires collected through face-

to-face interviews at gates of Istanbul Atatürk Airport International Terminal were

analysed. According to the results of the study, gender and nationality from demographic

factors, waiting time, annual flight frequency and first / re-arrival to the country from travel

related factors, and satisfaction with the products and shopping environment in the duty-

free shops affect whether passengers make a purchase or not. In addition, nationality,

educational level and waiting time affect the satisfaction of customers in duty free shops.

Key words:

Airport shoppers, buying behaviour, situational factors, duty free shops, satisfaction

Ünder, U., Atalık, Ö. – Investigating airport shoppers’ buying behaviors… T&L

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


INTRODUCTION

With the liberalization and deregulation of the aviation industry, the pressure

exerted by low-cost airlines on airports to reduce prices [1, 2], the privatization of the

airports [1, 3, 4] and the intense competition among airports [5] have led to the

commercialization of airports. There are strong fluctuations in demand as airports

operate in a highly cyclical business environment. The most important measure that

airports can take against these demand shocks and avoid complete dependence on

aviation activities is to focus on non-aeronautical revenue [2]. Due to non-aeronautical

revenues, airports can charge less for airlines. Therefore, they can establish new

destinations and attract especially new low-cost airlines, which are sensitive to airport

charges [6]. In addition, commercial activities can be addressed to different consumer

groups, such as aviation employees, visitors, local people, other than passengers. On the

other hand, non-aeronautical revenues require low operational costs compared to

aeronautical revenues [2].

According to the ACI (2020) report, 39.2% of the $178.2 billion revenue

generated by airports in 2020 have been derived from non-aeronautical sources. Non-

aeronautical revenue per passenger is $7.03. 28.9% of non-aeronautical revenues are

derived from retail concessions, 20.4% from car parking, 14.9% from property and real

estate, and 35.8% from others including car rentals, food and beverage, advertising and

more. Aeronautical revenue per passenger is around $10; non-aeronautical revenue is

approximately $7, almost at a level that competes with aeronautical revenue [7].

Airport administration that seek ways of increasing non-aeronautical revenues to

protect their financial sustainability, on the one hand, try to enlarge the area devoted to

commercial activities [4], on the other hand, to understand buying behaviour of

passengers and interaction of them with terminal [8], and to try actively to boost

spending of passengers at airport and retain them [9]. This paradigm shift in the air

transport industry has undoubtedly changed the atmosphere of the airport and, along

with a number of psychological effects, has also led to a change in the buying behaviour

of customer [10]. In such an environment, understanding the passenger experience has

become important [11].

Studies in the literature have focused on issues such as satisfaction with

shopping at the airport [12, 13, 14, 15, 11], determining a customer typology [16, 17],

time pressure and impulse purchasing [18, 19, 20], factors affecting the probability of

purchase. The number of studies examining the effect of socio-demographic factors on

buying behaviour is quite limited [21, 22]. In the context of Turkey, there is no study

that examines the effect of travel-related factors on buying and satisfaction by handling

both demographic and travel-related factors. On the other hand, data about airport

customer behaviour in duty-free shops is very limited [23].

For this reason, in this research, it is aimed to examine factors affecting the level

of passengers’ satisfaction and buying decision. The focus of the study is on duty-free

shops which account for most of retail revenue at airports.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Importance of Airport Retail Revenue

There are two main sources of income: aeronautical income from fees that

airport operators or authorities receive from airlines due to their use of airport facilities,

and non-aeronautical income from sources that are not directly related to operations of

aircraft [24, 4, 1, 25]. Non-aeronautical revenues include retailing, catering, rent a car,

advertising, fees such as parking, gas, water electricity; consultancy, services for

visitors and businessmen; and concessions [5].

Among non-aeronautical revenues, the largest share comes from the concessions

for retail sale [7]. Opportunities such as the increase of spending at airports [26], and

passengers spending only 36% of the total time on ticket processing, check-in and

security controls have attracted retailers to airport [27]. Airports, which take advantage

of remaining 64% of the total time, have developed strategies to convince passengers to

shop, keep them busy and entertain [28]. In this way, airports began to compete with

shopping malls at city centres [10] and each other [29].

Types of airport retailing include traditional airport retailers such as clothing

boutique, jewellers, newsstand, car rental and money changer; complementary services

such as catering, hairdresser, gym, religious services, ATMs and hotel; and advertising

services [30].

Although airport retailing is similar to other types of retailing, there are

important differences between them that cannot be ignored [1]. The first of these

differences is that the main purpose of people at the mall is to shop, while the main

purpose of a passenger shopping at the airport is to travel [31]. The second important

difference is the characteristics of the market. The target group of airport retailing

market consists of customers who are in above average socio-economic position. On the

other hand, this market also carries the risk of exposure to a number of external factors

(risks and crises). For example, passengers’ concerns about aviation security [1], natural

disasters and diseases that may occur, factors such as exchange rates may cause

significant fluctuations in demand by creating shock effects [17]. In a sector that is

under the influence of such uncontrollable variables, it is necessary to address the

factors affecting the behaviour of the consumer.

1.2 Shopping Behaviour in the Airport

There are numerous and various situational factors at airports. These factors

affect consumers’ buying behaviour [32, 49]. Under and Atalık [33], based on this

determination, classified airport atmosphere variables affecting consumers purchasing

decision process at airport in the context of situational factors [33]. Figure 1 gives six

situational factors affecting airport shoppers purchasing decision process in this

framework.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


Fig.1 Situational Factors Affecting Airport Purchasing

Source: Ünder ve Atalık (2016)

Due to these situational factors affecting airport purchasing, most of the

purchases are impulse purchases that were not previously planned [34, 19, 28, 35, 31].

Airport atmosphere to make passengers feel special [36], the appearance of products

and employees at an unfamiliar airport different from the passengers’ home country,

store atmosphere [37] are among physical surroundings affecting purchasing at airport.

Individuals with whom they travel, alone, with children or a group of friends is among

social surroundings affecting both the time spent for shopping and in the commercial

area [38, 17, 39, 34]. For example, those who travel in groups may see shopping as a

means of socialization [17].

The temporal perspective is examined by dividing it into two groups [33]. The

first of these are time pressure and waiting time. Passengers are required to arrive at

airport at a certain time, depending on domestic or international flights, before the flight

in order to complete their check-in and security controls. In addition, some passengers

may arrive at the airport early due to the stress of missing the flight or worry about

waiting on a line [10, 18]. Passengers who come to airport early or transit passengers

have a considerable waiting-period after the flight-related procedures are completed.

The waiting time affects the probability of purchase and the amount of expenditure [40,

24, 35]. The second time dimension is the timelessness caused by loss of the concept of

time due to being in an isolated environment, having numerous flights or being in

different time zones [10].

The other and relatively most important situational factor that causes impulse

purchasing is antecedent state [33]. Three basic emotions influencing the passengers

during their flights are excitement, stress [20, 10, 36] and boredom [41]. According to

the travel stress curve developed by Scholvink [42], passengers face different levels of

stress until they board the plane. The level of stress peaks in security control and then

decreases through boarding. Thomas [43] describes this period as happy hour when

boredom is in its highest level and passenger can be encouraged to buy [10, 18, 44].

There is also task definitions such as, the tradition of receiving gifts on return in

some cultures [25], the desire to buy country-specific products or products that remind

the country, and family or friends' orders are purposes of purchasing specific to the

airport environment and the last point of the journey to buy [33]. Finally, the enabling

factors affecting purchasing at the airport include the availability of credit card payment

Physical Surroundings

• Different atmosphere

• Advertising in store

Social Surroundings

• Socialising

• Travelling companions (Children, colleagues,

friends)

Temporal perspective

• Time Pressure

• Timelessness

• Waiting time

Task Definition

• Gift

• Order of friends/ family

• Souvenir

• Local products

Antecedent State

• Stress

• Excitement/ Concern

• Boredom

Enabling Factors

• Credit card

• Ability to pay in

different currencies

• Ease of carrying

• Multilingual staff


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


options, the ability to pay in different currencies, the ease of carrying products

purchased at the airport, and ease of communication [12, 45].

2 METHOD

2.1 Purpose

The aim of this research is to identify the factors that affect buying behaviour

and satisfaction level of customers at duty-free shops. In this context, it is aimed to

examine the effects of demographic factors, travel-related factors and buying motives

on purchasing and satisfaction. The reason picking duty-free shops among airport

retailers in the study is that the revenues of the duty-free shops is equal to the total

revenues obtained by the other retailers at the airport [46, 7].

In this context, the hypotheses of the research were established as shown in

Table 1.

Tab. 1 Research Hypothesis Research Hypothesis Sub-Hypothesis

H1: There is a relationship

between passengers' buying

behaviour and demographic

factors.

There is a relationship between passengers' buying behaviour and;

Gender (H1a)

Age (H1b)

Nationality (H1c)

Income (H1d)

Education level (H1e)

Occupation (H1f)


between passengers’ buying

behaviour and their travel-related

factors.

There is a relationship between passengers' buying behaviour and

Purpose of visit (H2a),

Travel companion (H2b)

Annual flight frequency (H2c)

First visit/revisit to country (H2d)

Waiting time before security (H2e)

Waiting time after security(H2f)



behaviour and their satisfaction

with duty-free shops.

There is a difference in the level of satisfaction with;

Products (H3a)

Staff service (H3b)

Shopping environment (H3c)

between purchasers and non-purchasers.



behaviour and their thoughts

about shopping at the airport.

There is a relationship between buyin behaviour and the level of

agreement to the statements about:

Shopping being a part of the journey (H4a)

Products and prices being attractive (H4b)

The sole mission of airport not being transportation (H4c)

Traveling by plane being relaxing (H4d)

Traveling by plane making people nervous (H4e)

Shopping because of boredom (H4f)

Purchases being impulsive (H4g)

Purchases being preplanned (H4h)


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––



between passengers’ buying

behaviour and their buying

motives.

There is a difference between purchasers and non-purchasers in

terms of the effect of;

More reasonable prices (H5a)

After sale services (H5b)

Multilingual staff (H5c)

Spatial comfort (H5d)

Product display (H5e)

Checkout speed (H5f)

Staff professionalism (H5g)

High number of promotional sales (H5h)

Warranty of quality (H5i)

Range of products (H5j)

Offering local goods/specialities (H5k)

Tle last point to purchase the products of the country,

(H5l)

Possibility to pay with different currencies (H5m)

Ease of carriage (H5n)

on the decision to shop at duty free stores.


between passengers' satisfaction

with duty-free shops and

demographic factors.

There is a relationship between passengers' satisfaction with duty-

free shops and;

Gender (H6a)

Age (H6b)

Nationality (H6c)

Income (H6d)

Educational level (H6e)

Occupation (H6f).


between passengers' satisfaction

with duty-free shops and their

travel-related factors.

There is a relationship between passengers' satisfaction with duty-

free shops and;

Purpose of visit (H7a)

Travel companion (H7b)

Annual flight frequency (H7c)

Waiting time before security (H7d)

Waiting time after security (H7e)

2.2 Measures and Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire is designed to consist of 5 sections using the literature and

testing the validity of the scope with expert opinions. The first section of the

questionnaire is related to demographics of participants. The second section covers

information about travel and comments related to shops and airport commercial model

adapted from Guens et.al. [16]. The third section includes questions about the purpose

of buying from Crawford and Melewar [10]. In the fourth section, the scale of W-T. Lin

and C-Y. Chen [12] is used to measure satisfaction with duty-free shops. In the last

section, buying motives of duty-free shoppers were adapted from Chung et.al. [38].

The questionnaire form was created in four languages: Turkish, English, Russian

and German, with parallel translations made by three different translators for each

language.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


2.3. Data Collection and Sample Characteristics

The surveys were conducted to the passengers waiting for their flight at the

Istanbul Ataturk Airport International Terminal gate area. In this way, 800 surveys were

collected, but 725 surveys were analysed.

51.4% of the participants were women and 49% of them were men. 27.4% of

respondents were Turkish, 27% German, 21% British and 24.7% Russian. Most of the

participants with 38% were in 25-34 age group. This was followed by 22% of

respondents aged 24 and under and 19.5% of respondents aged 35-44. Approximately

half of the participants (49.1%) worked in a paid job. This was followed by self-

employed/employer with 20.8% and students with 19%. It was observed that more than

half of the participants (54.2%) were faculty/college graduates and 152 participants are

earning 3001 euros and more.

3 RESULTS

Cronbach alpha reliability analysis was used to test the reliability of the scale in

the study. Accordingly, the Cronbach alpha value for the satisfaction scale, consisting of

22 items was .946. The suitability of the scale for factor analysis was then measured by

the KMO and Bartlett test in order to perform exploratory factor analysis. The KMO

value of above .90, it is .93 in the study, shows that sample size is excellent and the

significant Bartlett test (Sig. = 0.00 < α = 0.05) shows that there are high correlations

between the factors. As a result of EFA, a structure with three factors was obtained as in

the original of the scale: products, staff service and shopping environment. Related

factors explained 63.417% of the total variance. Then hypotheses were tested in

accordance with the purpose of the study.

3.1 Factors Affecting Buying

As a result of the analysis conducted to test H1, it was concluded that two

demographic factors had a significant impact on the purchasing decision (H1a, H1c). Chi-

square analyses were performed to test the relationship of nationality, gender, age,

occupation, income and education with buying behaviour. According to the results of

chi-square analysis, a statistically significant relationship was found between buying

behaviour and gender (2

(1)= 4. 145, p = 0.042, r=0.15). Women were more likely to

buy (62.3%), while the purchase rate was lower for men (54.6%). A statistically

significant relationship was also found between buying behaviour and nationality (2

(3)=

53. 027, p = 0.001, r=1.97). Accordingly, Turkish (69.2%) and Russian (69.7%)

passengers made more purchases, while the majority of German passengers (62.2%) did

not make any purchase.

Chi-square analysis were again used to test H2. According to the results of the

analysis, three significant relationships affecting buying behavior were identified (H2c,

H2d, H2f). The first of these was the relationship between buying behaviour and annual

flight frequency (2

(3)= 17.421, p = 0.001, r=0.65). As the annual frequency of flights

increased, so did purchases. While 48% of those who flied once a year made a purchase,

%52.5 flying 2-4 times a year and 68.5% flying 5-7 times a year made a purchase. But

those who flied 8 times a year and above made fewer purchases (65.3%). The second

significant relationship was found between buying behaviour and first/revisit to the


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


country (2

(1)= 7.739, p = 0.001, r=0.29). Participants visiting Turkey before are more

likely to buy. While 48% of those who visited Turkey for the first time made a

purchase, 60,9% of those who visited Turkey before made a purchase. Thirdly, a

statistically significant relationship was found between buying behaviour and waiting

time after security (2

(5)= 19.372, p = 0.002, r=0.76). Passengers are also more likely to

make purchases as flight waiting time increases after security checks at the airport.

However, waiting time lasting more than 60 minutes leads to a reduction in purchases.

But this decrease is not important. Here, as can be seen in Table 2, purchases fall

rapidly after 120 minutes.

Tab. 2 The Relationship Between Waiting Time after Security and Purchasing

Purchasing

Yes No

Fli

gh

t w

aiti

ng

tim

e af

ter

secu

rity

ch

eck

Less than 30 minutes 54.4% 45,6%

30-45 minutes 61.9% 38,1%

46-60 minutes 67.8% 32,2%

61-90 minutes 63.6% 36,4%

91-120 minutes 65.2% 34,8%

Over 120 minutes 43.1% 56,9%

To test H3, the Mann-Whitney U test, which is the equivalent of the independent

sample t test in non-parametric analyzes, was used due to the groups not being

distributed normally according to satisfaction levels2. According to the test results in

Table 3, a significant relationship was found between purchasers and non-purchasers in

terms of average satisfaction with the product attributes (U = 36034, p=0.001, z=-2.46,

r=-0.09). In terms of average satisfaction with the product attributes, the average of

purchasers was 3.16, on the other hand, the average of non-purchasers was 2.79. In

other words, the average of buyers was higher, and the difference was statistically

significant (z=-2.46, p=0.001). The Z value indicated that the average satisfaction of

purchasers was 2 standard points higher than non-purchasers. The probability that this

difference occurs by chance is less than 1%, that is, very low. Similarly, there was a

difference between purchasers and non-purchasers in term of the level of satisfaction

with shopping environment (U = 33242, p=0.001, z=-3.66, r=-0.14). In terms of average

satisfaction with shopping environment, the average of purchasers was 3.21, on the

other hand, the average of non-purchasers was 2.66. In other words, the average of

buyers was higher, and the difference was statistically significant (z=-3.66, p=0.01).

The Z value showed that the average satisfaction of buyers was 3 standard points higher

than those who did not. The probability that this difference occurs by chance is less than

1%, that is, very low.

2 In the study, only the results with a significant relationship were included due to the page constraint and

the number of hypotheses.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


Tab. 3 Mann-Whitney U Test Results of Relationship Between Satisfaction and

Buying Behaviour

Hypothesis Mann-

Whitney U Z ist. P value

Decision

(H0)

H3a: There is a difference in the level of satisfaction

with product between purchasers and non-

purchasers.

36034,5 -2,46 0,014 Rejected

H3c: There is a difference in the level of satisfaction with

shopping environment between purchasers and non-

purchasers. 33242 -3,66 0,000 Rejected

According to the results of the chi-square analysis performed to test H4, as seen

in Table 4, there was a relationship between five statements and buying behaviour (H4a,

H4b, H4c, H4d, and H4f). According to the results of the analysis, there was a significant

relationship between buying behaviour and the level of agreement to the statement

about shopping being a part of the journey (2

(4)= 69.876, p = 0.001 r=2.62). As the

level of agreement on shopping being a part of travel increases, passengers were more

likely to make purchases. While 36% of those who totally disagreed with this view

made purchases, 82% of those who totally agree made purchases. According to another

chi-square analysis, there was a relationship between buying behaviour and the level of

agreement on products and prices being attractive (2

(4)= 26.85, p = 0.001, r=1.00). A

large proportion (72.5%) of those finding prices attractive at the airport were buying.

Besides, there was a significant relationship between buying behaviour and the level of

agreement on the sole mission of airport not being transportation (2

(4)= 14.942, p =

0.005, r=0.56). As the level of agreement with this idea increased, the number of people

who bought also increased. In addition, there was a relationship between buying

behaviour and the level of agreement on flight being relaxing (2

(4)= 15.939, p = 0.003,

r=0.59). Around 62% of those who agreed with this idea and 68% of those who totally

agreed made a purchase. Finally, there was a relationship between buying behaviour

and the level of agreement on boredom being the reason for shopping at the airport

(2

(4)= 9.962, p = 0.041, r=0.37).

Tab. 4 Chi-square Analysis for Relationship Between Buying Behaviour and

Thoughts about Airport Shopping

Hypothesis Pearson Chi-

square Value Df Two-Tailed

Decision

(H0)

H4a: There is a relationship between buying

behaviour and the level of agreement to the

statement about shopping being a part of the

journey.

69.876 4 0.000 Rejected

H4b: There is a relationship between buying


statement about products and prices being

attractive.

26.85 4 0.000 Rejected

H4c: There is a relationship between buying


statement about the sole mission of airport not

being transportation.

14.942 4 0.005 Rejected

H4d: There is a relationship between buying

behaviour and the level of agreement to the 15.939 4 0.003 Rejected


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


statement about traveling by plane being

relaxing.

H4f: There is a relationship between buying


statement about boredom being the reason for

shopping at the airport.

9.962 4 0.041 Rejected

According to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test conducted before H5 was tested, the

data were not normally distributed. For this reason, the Mann-Whitney U test was

performed again. According to the results of the Mann-Whitney U test, it was concluded

that there was a significant difference between purchasers and non-purchasers in terms

of more reasonable prices (U = 44787, p=0.004, z=-2.89, r=-0.011), product display (U

= 38647.5, p=0.001, z=-3.97 r=-0.015), checkout speed (U = 40548, p=0.001, z=-3.80),

staff professionalism (U = 41634, p=0.002, z=-3.09), high number of promotional sales

(U = 35895, p=0.001, z=-5.04), warranty of quality (U = 41771, p=0.003, z=-2.96),

range of products (U = 39495, p=0.001, z=-4.23), offering local goods/specialities (U =

42826, p=0.001, z=-2.56), the ability to pay in different currencies (U = 41943,

p=0.004, z=-2.87) and airport being the last point to purchase the products of the

country (U = 38340, p=0.001, z=-3.60). The average level of effect of these factors on

purchasers was higher than non-purchasers.

3.1 Factors Affecting Satisfaction

In order to test H6, Kruskal-Wallis analysis, which is the nonparametric

equivalent of one-way ANOVA analysis, were performed. According to test results,

only nationality and educational level had an effect on satisfaction (H6c, H6e). There was

a significant difference in the satisfaction level of the passengers with products

according to their nationality (H = 11.7-529, SD=3, p=0.009). With the Bonferroni

adaptation, it was taken to p=0.008 and 6 different Mann-Whitney U tests were

performed. According to test results, this difference was due to Germans and Russians

(U = 9753.5, p=0.001, z=-3.302 r=-0.018). Russians’ satisfaction average (3.55) was

higher than Germans’ satisfaction average (3.29). A statistically significant difference

was found in the satisfaction level of the staff service according to the nationality of the

passengers (H = 19.327, SD=3, p=0.000). According to six different Mann-Whitney U

tests, the difference was due to Germans and Russians (U = 9514.5, p=0.001, z=-3.494

r=-0.19) and British and Russians (U = 7484.5, p=0.001, z=-4.007 r=-0.23). Finally,

there was a significant difference in the satisfaction level of the passengers with

shopping environment according to their nationality (H = 19.725, SD=3, p=0.001). With

the Bonferroni adaptation, it was taken to p=0.008 and 6 different Mann-Whitney U

tests were performed. According to test results, this difference was due to Turkish and

Russians (U= 10927, p=0.004, z=-2.874, r=-0.15) and Germans and Russians (U =

8709.5, p=0.001, z=-4.361, r=-0.24).

According to another Kruskal-Wallis test, there was a difference in the level of

satisfaction with staff service among passengers with different education levels (H=

11.748, SD=3, p=0.008). This difference was due to primary/ secondary school

graduates and master/PhD graduates (U= 1967.5, p=0.006, z=-2.757, r=-0.21). Primary /

secondary school graduates had lower satisfaction level with staff service. On the other


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


hand, there was a difference in the level of satisfaction with shopping environment

among passengers with different educational levels (H= 8.047, SD=3, p=0.045). This

difference was due to primary/secondary graduates and master/PhD graduates (U=

10927, p=0.004, z=-2.874, r=-0.15) and high-school graduates and master/PhD

graduates (U= 8709.5, p=0.001, z=-4.361, r=-0.24). Participants with a master's or

higher education level had a lower level of satisfaction with shopping environment.

In order to test H7, The Kruskal-Wallis test was used. As can be seen in Table 5,

waiting time after security control differed in the level of satisfaction with staff service

(H = 14.939, SD=5, p=0.011) and shopping environment (H = 13.257, SD=5, p=0.021)

among different groups (H7e). This difference in the satisfaction with staff service was

due to those who waited less than 30 minutes and those who waited 61-90 minutes (U =

3499.5, p=0.002, z=-3.11, r=-0.22) and those who waited less than 30 minutes and those

who waited more than 120 minutes (U = 4080, p=0.002, z=-3.062, r=-0.21). The

difference in the satisfaction with shopping environment was due to participants who

waited 30 -45 minutes and those who waited 61-90 minutes

Tab. 5 Difference between Waiting Time and Satisfaction: Kruskal-Wallis Test

Results

Hypothesis

Kruskal-

Wallis Test Decision (H0)

X2 P

H7e2: The waiting time after security control differs in the level of

satisfaction with staff service among different groups3 . 14.939 0.011

Rejected

(i-iv, i-vi)

H7e3: The waiting time after security control differs in the level of

satisfaction with shopping environment among different groups. 13.257 0.021 Rejected

(ii-iv)

4 DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION

With the commercialization at airports, the importance of non-aeronautical

revenues has increased, and airport administrations have focused on developing

strategies to increase these revenues. With the increase of spaces devoted to commercial

activities at the airport, retailers began to enter this niche area and provide airport

customers with different products and services, and airports resembling shopping

centres managed to attract consumer groups other than passengers. The vast majority of

retail revenue, which generates the largest share of non-aeronautical revenue, is

generated from duty-free shops. In this context, it is clear that the price advantage is not

the only factor determining the status and satisfaction of consumers buying from duty-

free shops. While airlines can obtain information about their customers through

reservations and frequent flyer programs, airports do not have such opportunities. In this

context, it is necessary to try to understand the behaviour of consumers at the airport

with empirical research.

3 (i) Less than 30 minutes, (ii)30-45 minutes, (iii)46-60 minutes, (iv)61-90 minutes, (v)91-120 minutes,

(vi) More than 120 minutes


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


Accordingly, the study aimed to determine the factors affecting purchasing and

satisfaction. According to the results of the study, considering the relationship between

purchasing and demographic factors, it was found that the participants’ purchasing

decisions were affected by their nationality and gender (H1a, H1c). Accordingly, women

were more likely to purchase than men [13, 17, 12, 19]. Similarly, purchasing differed

according to the customer’s nationality [10, 47, 12]. This means that airports can offer

special products based on the nationality and gender of the customer groups they target.

For example, the number of stores or products for women and the variety of products

that attract the attention of Russian and Turkish passengers can be increased. In

addition, since the flight schedule is already known, promotions may be offered

according to the nationality of passengers on upcoming flights.

Examining the travel related factors, it was concluded that the annual flight

frequency, first or second time at the airport and waiting time after security [24]

affected buying behaviour (H2c, H2d, and H2f). As the annual frequency of flights

increased, the purchase rate increased. However, for those who flied 8 times a year and

above, the rate began to fall. Frequent flyers spent less at the airport [17, 24]. Those

visiting Turkey before made more purchases than those coming to Turkey for the first

time. For this reason, passengers can be encouraged to come back to our country and the

duty-free stores and marketing strategies can be applied to achieve this. Passengers

make more purchases in parallel with waiting time [40, 24]. According to researches,

the primary reason enabling passengers to make purchases at the airport is to kill time

[17]. As the passengers find dwell time boring, they focus more on killing time and

passengers in good shape make purchases [44]. Nevertheless, after 120 minutes, there is

a decrease in purchasing. Passengers must be given the necessary time to make

purchases at the airport. In order to give this period, security controls and check-in must

be completed in a short time. In this way, passengers can spend more time shopping by

moving to the sterile area earlier. Shortening the time required for check-in and passport

control at the airport will also help reduce stress of passengers and enjoy this period

[48].

Satisfaction was studied as another factor affecting purchasing. The level of

satisfaction with the attributes of the products and the shopping environment affected

the buying behaviour (H3a, H3c). Those satisfied with products and shopping

environment were more likely to make purchases [19]. For this reason, duty-free shops

can increase customer satisfaction by focusing on the attributes of products and

shopping environment rather than staff service. The lighting, decoration and design,

product display, flow of shopping, spatial comfort, cleanliness and hygiene, service

counter are all important shopping environment attributes. Variety, brand, quality, price

and promotion of products (advertising, free samples, price discounts etc.) should be

enhanced. Store managers could follow the schedules to better match the right mix of

product to right customers at the right time.

Travellers’ decisions about commercial activities of airports affect their buying

decisions. According to the results of this study, there was a significant relationship

between buying behaviour and the level of agreement to the statement about shopping

being a part of the journey (H4a), products and prices being attractive (H4b), the sole

mission of airport not being transportation (H4c), flight being relaxing (H4d) and boredom


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


being the reason for shopping at the airport (H4f). Because non-purchasers can also

become a target group, airport retailers should focus on communicating their

commercial roles and motives to shop at airports, creating a pleasing and exciting

shopping environment [16].

Considering the relationship between buying motives and the buying behaviour,

it was found a significant difference between purchasers and non-purchasers in terms of

more reasonable prices (H5a), product display (H5e), checkout speed (H5f), staff

professionalism (H5g), high number of promotional sales (H5h), warranty of quality

(H5i), range of products (H5j), offering local goods/specialities (H5k), airport being the

last point to purchase the products of the country (H5l), the ability to pay in different

currencies (H5m). In this case, it can be said that buyers make purchases with functional

motives [38]. Those who did not buy saw reasonable prices as a more influential factor.

In this case, it can be said that the purchase was not made by these passengers because

the prices were not affordable enough. For this reason, stores where low-priced products

are sold can be increased and sales can be supported by promotional activities.

Passengers making purchases saw display of the products as a more influential factor. In

other words, display of products is an important factor that drives people to buy. Factors

such as checkout speed, staff professionalism, number of promotional sales, warranty of

quality, variety of products, local products, the opportunity to pay in different

currencies, and being the last point to purchase the products of the country were all

stated as more effective by purchasers.

Demographic factors affecting satisfaction were found to be nationality and

education (H6c, H6e). Differences were found among different nationalities in terms of

satisfaction with product, staff service and shopping environment [12]. Education was

also found to be a factor affecting satisfaction with the shopping environment.

Depending on the waiting time of passengers, the satisfaction with staff service and

shopping environment also differed (H7e).

References

[1] A. Graham, 2009, “How important are commercial revenues to today's airports? ”,

Journal of Air Transport Management, 15, pp. 106-111.

[2] F. Fuerst and S. Gross, 2018, “The commercial performance of global airports”,

Transport Policy, 61, pp. 123-131.

[3] F. Fuerst, S. Gross and U. Klose, 2011, “The sky is the limit? The determinants and

constraints of European airports,” Journal of Air Transport Management, 17, pp.

278-283.

[4] P. Freathy and F. O'Connell, 1999, “Planning for Profit: the Commercialization of

European Airports,” Long Range Planning, 32 (6), pp. 587-597.

[5] A. Graham, 2014, “Managing Airports- An international perspective”, 4. ed., New

York: Routledge.

[6] J. I. Castillo-Manzano, L. López-Valpuesta and A. Sánchez-Braza, 2018, “When

the mall is in the airport: Measuring the effect of the airport mall


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


onpassengers’consumer behavior,” Journal of Air Transport Management,72, pp.

32-38.

[7] Airports Council International, 2020, “Airport Economics at a Glance,”, Available

at: aci.aero/20KPI-P.

[8] Y. Chen, C. L. Wu, T. T. Koo and I. Douglas, 2020, “Determinants of airport retail

revenue: a review of literature,” Transport Reviews, pp. 1-27.

[9] H. Han, J. Yu and W. Kim, 2018, “Airport shopping – an emerging non-aviation

business: triggers of traveler loyalty,” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing,

35(7), pp. 835-845.

[10] G. Crawford and T. C. Melewar, 2003, “The importance of impulse purchasing

behaviour in the international airport environment,” Journal of Consumer

Behaviour, 3(1), pp. 85-98.

[11] G. C. Bezerra and C. F. Gomes, 2020, “Antecedents and consequences of

passenger satisfaction with the airport,” Journal of Air Transport Management,83,

pp. 1-12.

[12] W.-T. Lin and C.-Y. Chen, 2013, “Shopping Satisfaction At Airport Duty-Free

Stores: A Cross- Cultural Comparison,” Journal of Hospitality Marketing &

Management, 22(1), pp. 47-66.

[13] S.-W. Perng, C.-C. Chow and W.-C. Liao, 2010, “Analysis of shopping

preference and satisfaction with airport retailing products,” Journal of Air

Transport Management,16, pp. 279-283.

[14] J.-W. Park, Y.-J. Choi and W.-C. Moon, 2013, “Investigating the effects of sales

promotions on customer behavioral intentions at duty-free shops: An Incheon

International Airport case study,” Journal of Airline and Airport Management ,

3(1), pp. 18-30.

[15] J. C. Martín, L. Martín-Domingo, G. Lohmann and B. Spasojevic, 2019, “The role

of travel patterns in airport duty-free shopping satisfaction: A case study from an

Australian regional airport,” Journal of Air Transport Management, 80, p. 101691.

[16] M. Geuens, D. Vantomme and M. Brengman, 2004, “Developing a typology of

airport shoppers,” Tourism Management, 25, pp. 615-622.

[17] P. Freathy and F. O'Connell, 2012, “Spending time, spending money: passenger

segmentation in an international airport,” The International Review of Retail,

Distribution and Consumer Research, 22 (4), no. 4, pp. 397-416.

[18] Y.-H. Lin and C.-F. Chen, 2013, “Passengers’ shopping motivations and

commercial activities at airports - The moderating effects of time pressure and

impulse buying tendency,” Tourism Management, 36, pp. 426-434.

[19] J.-L. Lu, 2014, “Investigating factors that influence passengers' shopping

intentiones at airports- Evidence from Taiwan,” Journal of Air Transport

Management, 35, pp. 72-77.

[20] A. Sharma and A. Nanda, 2012, “Impulse buying at airport terminals: A case of

Indian consumers,” Asian Journal of Management Research, 3(1), pp. 68-82.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


[21] B. Tuncer and D. A. Isık, 2014, “Havalimanı Yolcularının Satın Alma

Davranışlarını İncelemeye Yönelik Bir Araştırma,” Akademik Sosyal

Araştırmalar Dergisi, 2(8), pp. 261-280.

[22] H. Jiang, 2015, “Investigating Air Passengers’ Spending Behaviour – a Survey at

Hong Kong International Airport,” Journal of Contemporary Management, pp. 21-

32.

[23] H. Han and S. S. Hyun, 2018, “Investigating customers’ shopping behaviors at

airport duty-free shops: impact of shopping flow and alternative shopping malls’

attractiveness,” Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 23(7), pp. 627-638.

[24] E. Torres, J. Domingueza, L. Valdes and R. Aza, 2005, “Passenger waiting time

in an airport and expenditure carried out in the commercial area,” Journal of Air

Transport Management, 11, pp. 363-367.

[25] R. Doganis, 1992, “The Airport Business”, New York: Routledge.

[26] B. Thompson, 2007, “Airport retailing in the UK,” Journal of Retail & Leisure

Property,6(3), pp. 203-211.

[27] P. J. Kirk, 2013, “Passenger Experience at Airports: An Activity-Centred

Approach,” Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.

[28] J. Rowley and F. Slack, 1999 “The retail experience in airport departure lounges:

reaching for timelessness and placelessness,” International Marketing Review, 16

(4/5), pp. 363-375.

[29] J. S. P. Hobson, 2000, “Tourist Shopping in Transit: The Case of BAA plc,”

Journal of Vacation Marketing, 6(2), pp. 170-183.

[30] D. Jarach, 2016, “Airport Marketing: Strategies to Cope with the New Millennium

Environment”, New York: Routlegde, 2016.

[31] Y. S. Chung, 2015, “Hedonic and utilitarian shopping values in airport shopping

behavior,” Journal of Air Transport Management, 49, pp. 28-34.

[32] Y. Odabaşı and G. Barış, 2011, “Tüketici Davranışı”, 11 ed., İstanbul: MediaCat.

[33] Ü. Ünder and Ö. Atalık, 2016, “Havaalanı Alışverişçileri ve Havaalanında Satın

Almayı Etkileyen Durumsal Faktörler,” Çukurova Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari

Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 20(1), pp. 163-185.

[34] O. Omar and A. Kent, 2001, “International airport influences on impulsive

shopping: trait and normative approach,” International Journal of Retail &

Distribution Management, 29(5), pp. 226-235.

[35] H. K. Sohn and T. J. Lee, 2017, “Tourists’ impulse buying behavior at duty-free

shops: The moderating effects of time pressure and shopping involvement,”

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(3), pp. 341-356.

[36] P. Bohl, 2014, “The impact of airport shopping environments and dwell time on

consumer spending,” Vezetéstudomány / Budapest Management Review, 11, pp.

11-24.


––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––


[37] H. Han, W. Kim and S. S. Hyun, 2014, “Overseas Travelers' Decision Formation

for Airport-Shopping Behavior,” Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 31, pp.

985-1003.

[38] Y.-S. Chung, C.-L. Wu and W.-E. Chiang, 2013, “Air passengers’ shopping

motivation and information seeking behaviour,” Journal of Air Transport

Management, 27 , pp. 25-28.

[39] A. Livingstone, V. Popovic, B. Kraal and P. Kirk, 2012, “Understanding the

Airport Passenger Landside Retail Experience,” DRS 2012 Bangkok–Research:

Uncertainty, Contradiction and Value, Bangkok, Chulalongkorn University.

[40] J. I. Castillo-Manzano, 2010, “Determinants of commercial revenues at airports:

Lessons learned from Spanish regional airports,” Tourism Management, 31, pp.

788-796.

[41] S. Baron and K. Wass, 1996, “Towards an understanding of airport shopping

behaviour,” The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer

Research, 6(3), pp. 301-322.

[42] J. Scholvinck, 2000, “The Travel Stress Curve,” Market Square Consulting,

Amsterdam.

[43] D. Thomas, 1997, “Retail and leisure developments at London Gatwick,”

Commercial Airport, pp. 38-41.

[44] B. S. Blichfeldt, A. Pumputis and K. Ebba, 2017, “Using, spending, wasting and

killing time in airports,” International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality

Research, 11(3), pp. 392-405.

[45] B. Tuncer and E. Gavcar, 2014, “Havalimanı Terminal Hizmet Kalitesini

Etkileyen Faktörlerin Belirlenmesi,” The Journal of Academic Social Science,

2(6), pp. 183-211.

[46] Transportation Research Board, 2011, “Resource Manual for Airport In-Terminal

Concessions,” Airport Cooperatiand Research Program, Washington.

[47] P. Freathy and F. O'Connell, 2000, “Market segmentation in the European airport

sector,” Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 18 (3), pp. 102-111.

[48] W. Wattanacharoensil, M. Schuckert, A. Graham and A. Dean, 2017, “An

analysis of the airport experience from an air traveler perspective,” Journal of

Hospitality and Tourism Management, 32, pp. 124-135.

[49] R. W. Belk, 1975, “Situational Variables and Consumer Behavior”, Journal of

Consumer Research, 2 (3), pp. 157-164.

INVESTIGATING AIRPORT SHOPPERS’ BUYING BEHAVIORS AND ...

Documents

Transcript of INVESTIGATING AIRPORT SHOPPERS’ BUYING BEHAVIORS AND ...