The Impact Of Chinese Shopping Tourism On Swedish Retail Market

Swedish companies have worked unceasingly to improve the experience of Chinese consumers.It is visible in communications agencies that have worked to form collaborations with clothing stores and restaurants to offer new payment services such as Unionpay,Alipay and WeChat,as well as becoming more present on Chinese platforms.There has been a visible increase in Chinese shopping tourism in Sweden in recent years,and the trend continues.The discoveries show that there are signs and a rising enthusiasm for presenting Chinese payment methods in the future.This is primarily because of the increase in Chinese shopping tourism,as this consumer group account for 45%of Sweden's total tax-free purchases.The purpose of this study is to examine what marketing methods stores in Sweden carry out to target and facilitate the shopping experience for Chinese consumers.The study uses a qualitative and multiple case study design.Based on a review of previous research on Chinese's tourism in Sweden,a theoretical framework was created which laid the foundation of the interview questionnaires.A sum of semi-structured interviews on managers,employees and consumers were directed.A portion of those comprises of retail stores,a marketing company with focus on the Chinese market,a newspaper,and a correspondences organisation for the Swedish the travel industry.All interviews were transcribed and analysed pattern matching and coding.This thesis provided some key findings worth citing.Chinese consumers are more social shoppers,influenced by their surroundings,such as friends and families.Chinese consumers prefer to shop at international stores due to trust in goods and lesser tax.Chinese consumers are more present on social media and prefer mobile payment solutions rather than card payment.Analysis of the collection of data indicates that the Chinese consumers constituted the largest shopping tourist group that visited Stockholm's Quality Outlet,a well-known outlet mall in Stockholm.Nonetheless,difficulties to use Chinese payment methods remain problematic for the consumers.Furthermore,there is no cooperation in Sweden among the stores to market tourists in general.Since this target group has relatively weak language proficiency in English,it is of great importance to take this into account when designing advertising and sales material for this specific target group to clarify the message.In conclusion,this study stresses the methods taken or needed to be carried out when targeting this specific consumer group.There are still some challenges facing both Chinese consumers and Swedish stores.With this paper,the author hopes to lay a basis for further studies and offer suggestions on how to effectively target this specific consumer group.The thesis creates social benefits by increasing understanding of the Chinese market and the Chinese consumer group,resulting in increased shopping tourism.