Consumer Behaviour Towards Purchasing Feng Shui Goods: An Empirical Study from Vietnam

Religions and beliefs can affect the shopping behaviors of its followers and practitioners. However, the knowledge about the factors that motivate, facilitate and even constrain customers’ purchase of spiritual goods, such as feng shui items, is limited. Therefore, in this study, I examined the reasons, facilitators, and constraints of purchasing spiritual goods from the buyers’ perspective. Two research questions directed the examination process, including (1) why users buy spiritual goods? And (2) what factors may facilitate or constrain the purchase and use of spiritual goods? Using Vietnam’s feng shui market as the context, I applied the autoethnographic and ethnographic methods to collect and analyze the data. I found that the two main reasons to purchase the feng shui items were the products’ meaning and beauty. In addition, I observed three groups of factors that could facilitate or constrain the purchase and use of feng shui items, including information about the products and their sellers, disposable income and life stage of the buyers, and price and authenticity of the products. Finally, based on these findings, I discussed the practical implications for managing the spiritual goods market in Vietnam.