Chinese Tourist Shopping Satisfaction and Brand Attitude to Korean Cosmetics : A Disconfirmation Approach

Purpose - The current study examines the shopping behavior of Chinese tourists who purchase Korean cosmetics when visiting Korea, based on expectancy-disconfirmation of shopping satisfaction and brand attitude toward Korean cosmetics. A moderating effect of consumer conformity on the relationships between cosmetics selection factors and two dimensions of disconfirmation - expectation and performance is also examined. Research design, data, and methodology - We conducted a survey with 250 Chinese tourists who visited Jeju, Korea and had purchased Korean cosmetics during their stay. Excluding 43 respondents inputs because of incomplete answers and missing values, 207 responses were used in the final analysis. All hypotheses were tested using structural equation model (SEM). Results - We found that the Chinese tourist expectations had positive impact on their satisfaction, and the factors for cosmetic selection had a positive effect on shopping satisfaction and brand attitude. A moderating effect of consumer conformity was found to be significant. Conclusions - Given the significantly increased demand for Korean cosmetics from Chinese tourists, Korean cosmetics firms need to better understand cosmetics selection attributes and preference of Chinese tourists, which can provide a guideline to develop retail stores and distribution outlets for Chinese tourists.