Shopping: A Top Travel Activity

As many tourists can attest, shopping and vacations go hand-in-hand. On a national and state level, shopping consistently ranks as one of the top three travel activities.

According to the 2001 Economic Impact of Expenditures by Travelers on Wisconsin, travelers spent $3.2 billion on shopping in Wisconsin in 2001, more than food ($3 billion), recreation ($2.8 billion), lodging ($1.5 billion) and transportation ($.9 billion).  

In Wisconsin, numerous festivals and events are geared toward shoppers. Visitors to the Syttende Mai festival rate shopping as their favorite leisure activity. Warren's Cranberry Festival, which attracts 100,000 visitors in three days, offers 1,200 arts, antiques, crafts, flea market, and farmer's market booths. In two recent studies conducted by the Department of Tourism, bicyclists indicated they had plans to dine and shop in the area while on their trip, while visitors to Wisconsin's eight historic sites ranked shopping as an activity second only to dining.

In a recent advertising awareness study of the core markets of Chicago and the Twin Cities, participants were asked to state their most memorable Wisconsin activity by season in the past three years. Out of more than two dozen activities, shopping was ranked in the top six by fall, summer and spring visitors. 

Marketing Shopping Opportunities to Wisconsin Travelers

In order to better market shopping opportunities, communities and event organizers should identify leisure activities and lodging accommodations shoppers enjoy, and the sources for their shopping information. With this information, communities and event organizers can develop lodging packages to entice them to stay in the area a little longer. Here are some examples of activities that compliment shopping:

• Springtime shoppers dine, gamble, sightsee and visit historic sites.

• Summer shoppers dine, sightsee and go for hikes or walks.

• Fall shoppers dine, sightsee and visit parks or forests.

• Winter shoppers enjoy dining as well as area nightlife/entertainment.

National Shoppers

The Shopping Traveler report by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) provides a detailed profile of trips that include shopping and the consumers who take them.This study incorporates information from TIA's TravelScope^®, which includes data on domestic travel by U.S. residents during 1999 and Shopping Traveler Survey which is a telephone survey of U.S. consumers who traveled in the past year and included shopping as a trip activity.

The following are highlights from The Shopping Traveler:

• Shopping is a popular activity for leisure travelers.  Eighty-one percent of shopping travelers are on leisure trips, 58% of which are visiting family and friends.
  

• Half of the shopping travelers report that their primary or secondary reason for one or more trips in the past year was to shop. Four in ten shopping travelers agree that a trip is not complete without shopping.
  

• On average, shopping travelers report spending $333 on purchases while on vacation.
  

• Seventy percent of shopping travelers want to shop at stores that are unique or different to stores they have at home. Half of these shoppers say they go to find items that represent the destination they are visiting.

• Shopping travelers report they have more time to shop on leisure trips because they are away from home. Also, they want shopping areas that are convenient and easy to find.
  

• Shopping travelers most often spend money on clothes or shoes for themselves (77%) followed by souvenirs (49%), books or music (42%), specialty food and beverage items (41%), kid’s toys (39%), items and crafts unique to the destination (37%), and jewelry/accessories (36%).

• The most popular place to shop on trips is the traditional enclosed shopping center/mall, followed by the destination’s major downtown shopping district or Main Street.  However, when looking at the differences between age groups, the cost-conscious Baby Boomers are more inclined to shop outlet malls.  

For the complete Travel Tracker including additional market research from TIA's The Shopping Traveler, contact Sue Hamilton at 608/266-6792.