Scrutinizing the effects of pop-up stores' retailscape on young Chinese tourists' emotion and patronage intention

PurposeThis study aims to understand how retailscape of pop-up stores could influence young Chinese tourists' emotional response and their subsequent shopping intention in the context of luxury retailing.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative approach was chosen. Building on the theoretical framework of the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory, a pop-up store retailscape behavior model was developed to explore the effect of retailscape on young Chinese tourists' emotional response and patronage intention in a luxury retail setting. In total, 226 structured questionnaires were collected onsite.FindingsThe multiple regression analysis reveals that a luxury pop-up store's retailscape has a positive influence on young Chinese tourists' emotional response, but it only has a partial influence on their patronage intention. In addition, the result suggests that young Chinese tourists' emotional response positively influences their patronage intention in luxury pop-up stores.Practical implicationsThe study reveals how retailscape influences behavior among the younger generation, and the results provide important references for the luxury retailers in future design and management of pop-up stores so as to attract and retain the interest of the younger generation.Originality/valueThis study puts retailscape effect under scrutiny in the context of luxury pop-up stores which attract young Chinese tourists, who are regarded as one of the major patrons supporting exclusive retail brands in the world. The stimuli element in the S-O-R model is, thus, reexamined in the context of luxury pop-up stores.