Mary A. Littrell

Craft Retailers' Criteria for Success and Associated Business Strategies

This research was designed to fill the void in understanding how art–related retailers define and achieve success. A two–phase data collection process was implemented. Preliminary personal interviews were conducted with 12 craft retailers followed by a mailed survey to 1000 craft retailers in nine southeastern U.S. states. Factor analysis was employed to reduce the number of items for defining success. Cluster analysis followed to develop empirical groupings of craft retail businesses based on the success factor scores, of which four different groups were identified. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare retail clusters related to business strategy variables of competitive strategies, product assortment, pricing, and distribution strategies, and networking activities. Significant differences were found in the craft retailers’ business strategies used to achieve success. Craft retail entrepreneurs were found to define success with both traditional criteria such as profit and growth and also with intrinsic factors such as personal satisfaction and the opportunity to elevate the craft tradition. Successful small craft retail firms offered more focused product assortments of specialized craft products, implemented more differentiated strategies of stocking unique crafts in their assortments, as well as offering unique services to educate consumers about crafts, craft artisans, and a region’s culture. Craft retailers who reported greater success did not engage in competitive pricing. Collaborative strategies included networking among family, friends, and business peers.

Souvenir buying intentions for self versus others.

Abstract This research examines what influences tourists who want to purchase three categories of souvenirs and who are considering purchases for themselves vs. as gifts for family and friends. Female tourists traveling to Mexico completed a questionnaire and responded to photographic stimuli of three Mexican textile products. Findings suggested that the relationship between purchase intentions and some significant predictors, such as previous travel experience and attitude toward souvenirs, were affected by souvenir categories. However, the relationships were little influenced by the situational variable of buying for oneself vs. for others. When ethnic and recreational tourists were compared, relatively few differences were discovered.

Souvenir-purchase behavior of women tourists

Abstract Women tourists were interviewed to see if they fit the liberal or the cultural gender ideology, how they varied in souvenir purchases, and if they bought authentic souvenirs. The women represented the range of ages of early adulthood (EA) and middle adulthood (MA), and were frequent travelers who purchased many souvenirs. They exhibited characteristics of both ideologies and purchased authentic souvenirs. EA women made unplanned purchases in malls with their children. MA women made planned purchases in specialty stores and tourist shops with friends or husbands. Retailers should develop promotional messages that appeal to EA nonplanners, MA planners, and seekers of authenticity.

Senior travellers: tourism activities and shopping behaviours.

Senior travellers aged 50 and over served as the focus for an integrated exploration of tourism activities and shopping behaviours. The twofold purpose of the research was to develop profiles of senior travellers based on travel activities and to augment the profiles by comparing and contrasting tourists on shopping variables. Previous scholarship on tourist segmentation, tourism shopping and senior travellers informed the research. A sample of 146 travellers responded to a mail survey addressing their preferences for travel activities and a variety of shopping behaviours during travel. Travel activities factored into outdoors, cultural and sports and entertainment tourism. Factors encompassed both spectator/recreational and social engagement approaches to tourism. Three profiles of senior tourists included ‘active outdoor/cultural tourists’, ‘cultural tourists’ and ‘moderate tourists’. Profiles differed on the importance attached to shopping during travel, likelihood for shopping at retail venues, preferred shopping mall characteristics and sources of travel information about shopping. Scholarly and applied implications are offered.

Predicting Souvenir Purchase Intentions

Structural equation modeling was used for predicting souvenir purchase intentions of 277 U.S. female tourists traveling to Mexico. The respondents evaluated five textile products and described their travel behaviors. Findings suggested a sequence of significant relationships between hedonic values, world-mindedness, recreational and ethnic tourism, attitude toward souvenirs, and purchase intentions.

Product and Process Orientations to Tourism Shopping

Tourists’ shopping behaviors for craft souvenirs were modeled and empirically tested in this study. A self-administered mail questionnaire booklet and a single-page written description of two craft retail stores were mailed to a sample of adults who shop during their travels. A total of 182 surveys was included in data analyses. Path analysis was used to examine the relationships between travel activities, beliefs about authenticity of crafts and about craft product features, attitude toward shopping experiences, and intention to purchase at product-and process-oriented shopping venues. Results provided support for linkages between spectator/recreational and socially engaged approaches to tourism and the shopping venues proposed by the researchers. Travel activities positively influenced tourists’ beliefs about authenticity of crafts and about craft product features. Beliefs about craft product features had a positive effect on attitude toward shopping experiences, which in turn affected purchase intention. Implications for tourism retailers are provided.

Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Swing: marketing fair trade apparel

Purpose – This study focused on two research questions: How do generational cohorts of fair trade consumers differ in their product attitudes and behaviors, retail preferences, shopping orientations, and socio‐political attitudes? How do factors influencing purchase intentions for fair trade apparel differ among generational cohorts?Design/methodology/approach – Data from 1,055 current customers of four North American fair trade businesses were collected via mail survey and store‐intercept. Respondents included generation X (ages 29‐40, n=200), baby boomer (ages 41‐59, n=589), and swing (ages 60‐75, n=266) generations.Findings – Results revealed that baby boomers and swing respondents differed from Generation X participants in their greater focus on qualities of apparel comfort, value, and quality; preference for authentic products and ethnic attire; and local activism behavior. In contrast, they exhibited more limited interest in wearing fashionable attire. All respondents placed high importance on fair ...

Consumers' Conceptualization of Apparel Attributes

The purpose of this research was to a) generate a composite list of apparel attributes, b) arrange the attributes in conceptual categories and dimensional levels, and c) examine the attributes in ways that are useful to different types of retailers. Five focus group interviews were conducted with 31 female consumers in four midwestern towns. The focus groups were designed in a three part format to parallel some of the evaluation processes in different types of retail settings. Four conceptual themes and 79 attributes emerged based on the content of the data. The themes were physical appearance, physical performance, expressive, and extrinsic. Themes varied in the unidimensional and multidimensional nature of their attributes. Saliency of the attributes varied in the three parts of discussion which has implications for different types of retailers. Participants were concerned about physical appearance and expressive response when viewing catalog photographs and narrative copy. Concern heightened for physical appearance and diminished for expressive attributes when actual garments were examined. Recommendations and hypotheses for future research are provided.

Consumers of Clothing from Alternative Trading Organizations: Societal Attitudes and Purchase Evaluative Criteria

Consumers of ethnic clothing from alternative trading organizations (ATOs) were compared with non-purchasers on their values and attitudes. Additionally, a more detailed analysis was undertaken to identify the evaluative criteria used by ethnic clothing consumers as they make decisions to buy from ATOs. Clothing Purchasers (n = 192), Other Product Purchasers (n = 100), and Non-Purchasers (n = 84) from the mailing list of Pueblo to People (PTP), an ATO that imports handcrafted products from Latin America, completed a self-administered mail questionnaire. Multiple discriminant analysis identified that the variable most differentiating the three groups was quality. Compared with Non-Purchasers and Other Purchasers, Clothing Purchasers described Pueblo to Peoples clothing as being higher quality. Additionally, Clothing Purchasers had stronger belief in the work performed by ATOs, were more concerned about Latin American people, had traveled more extensively in Latin America, and were more highly educated than Non-Purchasers and Other Purchasers. Recommendations were made on strategies that ATOs might use to increase sales. Finally, many research topics, aimed toward thoroughly examining the alternative trading marketing system, were proposed.

Group profiles of women as tourists and purchasers of souvenirs.

This study describes women tourists andforms group profiles of them. The42 women represented early adulthood (ages 17–42) and middle adulthood (ages 43–65) and werefrequent travelers who purchased many souvenirs. Qualitative analysis yieldedfive group profiles of women tourists based on the emergent themes of trip-planning and souvenir-purchasing styles: (a) goalattainment travelers preplanned their trips and made both planned and unplanned purchases; (b) low-involvement travelers made minimal trip plans, unplanned purchases, and thefewest purchases; (c) eclectic travelers used combination planningfor trips, made both unplanned and planned purchases, and made the most purchases; (d) centrist travelers made preplanned trips but unplanned purchases; and (e) laid-back travelers were minimal trip planners who made unplanned, planned, or both unplanned and planned purchases. Each profile represents a target market with its own planning and purchasing styles. Souvenir marketers could design advertising themes and new productsfor each profile.