Unfolding Chinese tourist shopping practices: an observational study

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to draw upon the notion of practice as performance from social practice theory to unravel the onsite process of Chinese outbound tourist shopping. Design/methodology/approach The study took a mixed methods approach. Qualitative data were collected via 110 participant observations conducted in Australia, and quantitative techniques were used to analyse the data in Leximancer. Findings Chinese tourist shopping practices are performed on site through a range of intra-personal and inter-personal embodied actions, with the patterns these actions constitute being different across shopping settings. The frequency of inter-personal actions also reflects the importance of social interactions and communications in the shopping performances of Chinese tourists, some of which are conducted with people not present in the settings via social media. Originality/value This study uses a social practice framework from sociology to examine in detail how Chinese outbound tourists shop on site. The embodied actions identified in the study present a rich and detailed picture of the flow of Chinese tourist shopping performances. This allows for improved understanding of the forces for change in this aspect of Chinese outbound tourism.