International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

Shopping travel behaviour: influencing factors, shopper types and environmental consequences:
Anne Wiese Stephan Zielke Waldemar Toporowski

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Anne Wiese Stephan Zielke Waldemar Toporowski , (2015),"Shopping travel behaviour: influencing factors, shopper types
and environmental consequences", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 43 Iss 4/5 pp. Permanent link to this document:
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Shopping travel behaviour: influencing factors, shopper

types and environmental consequences

1 Introduction
Some recent studies have found that shopping in online retailing causes fewer
CO2 emissions than in brick-and-mortar retailing (Edwards et al., 2010; Weber et al.,
2008; Wiese et al., 2012). This result might endanger traditional business formats by
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triggering negative publicity. Interestingly, the CO2 emissions of shopping in the

brick-and-mortar channel are mainly caused by customer journeys to the stores and
not by the transport processes along the supply chain (Edwards et al., 2009; Wiese et
al., 2012). Hence, when aiming to reduce environmental pollution, retailers and
policy makers should strengthen the motivation for more environmentally friendly
consumer shopping travel behaviour.
In order to do so, a deeper understanding of this consumer behaviour is necessary, as
the first step toward bringing about changes in travel behaviour that reduce GHG
[greenhouse gas] emissions is an understanding of the component behaviours and the
factors that influence them what people do and why they do it (Handy and Krizek,
2012, p. 43). To understand consumer travel behaviour for shopping trips and its
environmental effects, the relevant factors influencing consumer behaviour must be
identified, analysed and evaluated with respect to their environmental impacts. Until
now, researchers have mainly focused on single influencing factors and their effects,
such as the influence of multi-purpose (Arentze et al., 1993), multi-destination
shopping (Brooks et al., 2008) or the effect of trip chaining on the use of public
transport (Hensher and Reyes, 2000). In contrast, the interdependencies between the
influencing factors for instance how the life cycle situation affects the relevance of
mobility and thereby the transport mode choice have scarcely been analysed. Due
to the complexity of travel decisions, it is crucial to address these interdependencies
with an appropriate research design. Clifton and Handy (2001, p. 3) highlight the
lack of understanding by mentioning that the more we understand about travel
behaviour, the more we recognize how much there is that we don't understand. In
contrast to the applied quantitative models that constitute the majority of the research
thus far, a qualitative approach facilitates the incorporation of various influence
1

factors on travel behaviour and makes the motives steering consumer behaviour
visible. Al-Jammal and Parkany (2002, unpaged) reveal that such methods explain
why people make certain travel choices through probing for underlying reasons
leading to final outcomes. Ye et al. (2007, p. 112) point out that to truly understand
and identify causal relationships, data regarding underlying behavioural processes
and decision mechanisms are needed.
Hence, although many papers address consumer travel behaviour and its
environmental effects, a comprehensive analysis, particularly in relation to shopping
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trips, is missing. The objective of this paper is therefore (1) developing a

comprehensive framework of influencing factors of shopping travel behaviour and
(2) analysing relationships between these influencing factors and how they
strengthen or weaken environmentally friendly shopping travel behaviour.
Addressing these objectives, a systematic literature review is conducted to provide
the theoretical framework for the development of a comprehensive model.
Afterwards, a qualitative study based on the derived model identifies and clarifies
interrelations between the influencing factors. The results of this study also illustrate
how the different factors and their interrelations influence shopping travel behaviour
in different customer life cycles and for different shopper types. In a last step,
implications for retailers, policy makers and researchers are deducted.

2 Theoretical background and research framework

Mode of transport is the most relevant aspect of consumer behaviour in terms of the
environmental effects of shopping trips. These effects can be mitigated through
environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as walking, cycling or public
transportation (Haustein and Hunecke, 2007). Here, a more detailed view is
necessary to understand how consumers choose transport modes when planning their
shopping trips. As transport mode choice has a significant effect on environmental
pollution, the analysis of influencing factors is particularly important. Closely related
to transport mode choice is trip chaining, which is the connection of trips. The
influencing factors of travel behaviour in general and transport mode choice in
particular can be grouped into sociodemographic variables, personal/psychological
characteristics, situational variables and external variables.
2

Most research has found that the sociodemographic variables age, gender, number of
children and life cycle as a combination of these help to explain travel behaviour (AlJammal and Parkany, 2002; Gould et al., 1998; McGuckin et al., 2005). Moreover,
the residential location is relevant as it influences the availability of transport modes
and thereby affects the transport mode choice.
Other influencing factors related to travel behaviour are psychological consumer
characteristics. Here, the perceived mobility necessity, i.e. peoples perceptions of
mobility-related consequences of their personal living circumstances (Haustein and
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Hunecke, 2007, p. 1878), is relevant because certain living situations make it more
difficult to reduce car use when public transport is unable to fulfil transport needs. A
further characteristic that might be relevant is the perception of transport modes, i.e.
whether people drive because of the attractiveness of car use or because of the
unattractiveness of non-car travel (Gardner and Abraham, 2010). Symbolic and
affective aspects have proven to be of similar relevance to traditional motives such as
cost and time (Ellaway et al., 2003; Steg, 2005). Moreover, the environmental
consciousness of a person is related to travel behaviour as environmental beliefs
might support a reduction of car use (Shen et al., 2008), although research has
yielded different results on this topic (Beiro and Sarsfield Cabral, 2007).
Travel behaviour is also influenced by situational variables (Klckner and
Friedrichsmeier, 2011), which depend on the goods that are purchased and the day
the shopping trip is conducted. These aspects can therefore differ with each shopping
trip a person makes. In general, the utility of travelling by public transport modes
decreases with greater trip complexity (Hensher and Reyes, 2000). Moreover, there
can be significant differences in consumer trip chaining behaviour over various days
of the week (Al-Jammal and Parkany, 2002), and the design of trip chains might
differ between various transport modes (Lee et al., 2002). Closely related to the
aforementioned aspects is multi-purpose shopping, which often leads to trip
chaining. Consumers might differ in their behaviour with respect to the purpose of
their shopping trip. For instance, single-purpose shoppers try to minimize prices and
distance costs, whereas multi-purpose shoppers also include regional characteristics
such as other retailers or restaurants in their destination choice (Popkowski Leszczyc
et al., 2004). Hence, multi-purpose shoppers might travel greater distances and stop
3

more than once to do their shopping, which might affect their transport mode choice.
In addition, the routine or habit involved in carrying out some trips might influence
behaviour as there is evidence that people do not question these tours as much as
other ones (Chen and Chao, 2011; Lee et al., 2002). Brooks et al. (2008) analyse
preferences for different geographical destinations within trip chaining. They find
that customers try to minimize not only the travel distance but also the subjective
travel costs. The enjoyability or importance of destinations in the trip chain might
lead to discounting the distance costs. Regarding shopping trips, for instance,
consumers might be willing to travel longer distances to reach their favourite
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clothing store, causing greater environmental pollution and possibly also a change in
travel mode choice, e.g. by switching from public transport to cars for longer travels.
Furthermore, external variables that cannot be influenced by the consumer affect
behaviour. The connection to public transport modes is important because consumers
living in an area with limited public transport might opt to travel by car. In addition,
opening times of stores are relevant (Al-Jammal and Parkany, 2002) as they might,
for instance, restrict the possibility of trip chaining after work or lead to car use. Also
regulations regarding retailing at weekends are relevant. In several European
countries stores are usually not allowed to open on Sundays, forcing customers to
concentrate their weekend shopping trips on one day. The weather can also have a
major impact on the transport mode choice (Jakobsson, 2004); for example, rain
might prevent environmentally friendly behaviour when consumers are unwilling to
cycle or walk in such conditions.
This short literature review reveals that consumers can behave less optimally in
designing their shopping trips than one would expect from a cost-minimizing
perspective (Dellaert et al., 1998). Furthermore, the influencing factors may also
cause consumers to make transport mode choices that are not optimal from an
environmental perspective. The huge complexity of travel decisions was clarified,
and the different influencing factors derived are closely related. Sociodemographic
factors, such as life cycles, may influence psychological characteristics, such as the
perceived mobility necessity. The sociodemographic variable residential location is
closely related to the external variable connection to public transport. Hence, the

various influencing factors should be incorporated together and not considered

individually.
Figure I provides a concluding overview of the four categories identified as relevant
for shopping travel behaviour and its environmental effects. The three aspects
pictured in the upper line show the influencing factors related to the consumer and
his or her behaviour. In contrast, the right-hand side depicts the external influencing
factors that can either be steered by retailers and policy makers (like public transport
connections) or cannot be influenced at all (like the weather). In general, all aspects
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affect the travel behaviour, particularly the transport mode choice. These consumer
decisions predominantly influence the pollution caused by shopping trips.
>> Figure I here

The literature research demonstrates that there is still a lack of knowledge concerning
how consumers choose transport modes and design their shopping trips. The causal
relationship between transport mode choice and trip chain complexity must be
examined in greater detail. Furthermore, insight into how the influencing factors
interact is needed. A qualitative research design is an appropriate method to shed
more light on the role of influencing factors and their interdependencies.

3 Research Method
Travel choices are complex and involve various attributes, which makes analysing
them computationally burdensome and causes a trade-off between behavioural
realism and complexity (Ben-Akiva et al., 1998, pp. 11, 13). A qualitative approach
facilitates the incorporation of various influencing factors on travel behaviour and
makes the motives steering consumer behaviour visible. In particular, as discussed
above, the concurrence of the various influencing factors should be analysed. To plan
the research approach, a detailed list of questions was deduced from the results of the
literature review, forming the basis for focusing and conducting the study (Maxwell,
2008). Table I provides an overview of the questions, following the influencing
factors depicted in Figure I.
>> Table I here
5

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted to obtain answers related to

the questions raised in Table I. This method involves prepared questioning guided
by identified themes in a consistent and systematic manner interposed with probes
designed to elicit more elaborate responses (Qu and Dumay, 2011, p. 246). Thus,
the interviewer can apply the same thematic approach in all interviews but is still
able to react flexibly to the responses of the interviewee (Qu and Dumay, 2011).
Various aspects must be considered in choosing the interviewees. As research has
shown that different stages in the life cycle are relevant to travel behaviour (AlJammal and Parkany, 2002; Golob, 1986; McGuckin et al., 2005), five groups were
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considered: young people without children, people with preschool children, people
with school children, older people with out-of-house or no children and retired
people. In addition to the life cycle phase, the residential location is important as
there might be differences in shopping behaviour depending on the residential area.
To structure the various residential areas, the central place theory (King, 1985) was
applied, incorporating the different kinds of supply that are offered by locations.
Low-order centres provide a basic supply, such as supermarkets, a medical service
and an elementary school. Some interviewees of this study live in villages that do not
even offer this supply. Middle-order centres offer a basic supply and periodical
supply; they also have hospitals, cinemas and secondary schools. A high-order centre
is a city offering a basic supply, periodical supply and specific supply, including
specialized hospitals, universities, museums etc. Table II shows the structure of the
interviewees. One interviewee was recruited for each cell of the table (15
interviewees in total). This procedure of interviewee selection is called purposeful
sampling, i.e. persons [...] are deliberately selected for the important information
they can provide that cannot be gotten as well from other choices (Maxwell, 2008,
p. 235), which differs from the convenience or probability sampling often applied in
quantitative research.
>> Table II here
The interviews were conducted in the winter of 2012/13 in Germany. To avoid any
bias caused by differences in interviewer behaviour, the same interviewer conducted
all interviews. To secure relationship-based ethics (Qu and Dumay, 2011), the
interviewees were neither friends nor family members of the interviewer. The
6

interview guideline was based on the questions displayed in Table I. The interviews
comprised five steps. First, the interviewer introduced the topic, described as general
shopping behaviour to prevent social desirability (Qu and Dumay, 2011). Detailed
information about the aim of the research project was provided after the interview.
Second, the interviewee was encouraged to talk about his or her most recent
shopping trip. Consequently, this approach tells it like it really was (Maxwell,
2008, p. 222). Third, the interviewer asked detailed questions about the transport
mode use, trip chaining etc., based on the information given. Fourth, the focus
shifted to the perceived mobility necessity, the perception of environmental issues
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and expectations of policy makers and retailers. Finally, the interview was concluded
with general questions about the interviewees sociodemographic characteristics.
The interviews lasted between twelve and thirty-three minutes, depending on the
interviewees means of providing information. Whilst some of them talked freely,
others had to be prompted with questions, leading to shorter interviews. The
interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim.
The analysis was conducted with the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
software NVivo, which helps to control the huge amount of data generated in
qualitative research (Maclaran and Catterall, 2002). The software was applied for
structuring the data and finding connections between the contents of the different
interviews. The interviewer conducted the analysis of the interviews to ensure that
the interview context was captured adequately. As it is often mentioned that the
researcher must be careful not to get lost in coding by falling into the coding trap
(Marshall, 2002, p. 62) and should maintain focus on the complete context, the
transcribed interviews were read thoroughly several times.

4 Results
This section provides the results of analysing the interviews, structured with respect
to groups of influencing factors. As the research questions yield various
interdependencies, the results are presented together in the following without
reference to the individual research questions.

4.1 Influence of life cycle and psychographics

The interviews highlighted the relevance of mobility for most interviewees. In
particular, parents with older children have a high perceived mobility necessity. They
must bring their children to appointments with friends, sports, doctors appointments
etc., structuring their lives on the requirements of their children. Combining
childcare with job issues complicates the situation and therefore influences transport
mode choices for shopping trips. For instance, interviewee G must hurry after work
to be home in time to prepare lunch. She would consider cycling to work when her

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children are older and she no longer has to hurry so much. Interviewee I mentioned
that, due to juggling all of her obligations, she rarely cycles as it takes more time
than driving, even though she used to cycle often. For parents with younger children,
the perceived mobility necessity is smaller, but using public transport is complicated
by having to bring along the pram etc. In general, public transport cannot fulfil the
requirements of these life cycle groups.
Interviewee C always cycles, even in the snow and rain, as using the bus is very
unattractive to her. Using the car also seems to be a matter of course for most
interviewees. Although interviewee C generally cycles in everyday life, she routinely
uses the car when she stays at her mothers home as it is there. Interviewee E does
not know anything about the bus timetable; she does not think about it, because she
has a car. Interviewee F has a company car, which he uses all time, although he
claimed he might not use the car that often if he had to pay for petrol etc. himself.
These examples demonstrate that the availability of a car seems to blind people to
other transport modes, supporting research results that highlight the habitual
behaviour of private car use (Beiro and Sarsfield Cabral, 2007; Chen and Chao,
2011). One of the most interesting results is that the interviewees do not change
transport modes as often as might be expected from the research. Most people only
use one transport mode regularly, which in most cases is the car (interviewees A, B,
D, E, F, G, J, K, L, M and O) and in one case the bicycle (interviewee C).
Interviewee I mostly uses the car but also cycles or takes the bus, whilst
interviewee H alternates between car and bike. Interviewee N does not own a car but
sometimes goes shopping with her daughter, who drives her to the shops, or walks to
the city centre.

The discussion above indicates that there are differences between the life cycles.
Although the three people interviewed in each life cycle group differ in their
behaviour and characteristics, they have some commonalities that are presented in
Table III to provide an overview of the aspects considered relevant for shopping trip
behaviour. The table clarifies the main characteristics and the perceived mobility
necessity. In addition, the relevance of cars and the perception of public transport are
analysed.

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>> Table III here

With one exception, all the interviewees stated that they try to behave in an
environmentally conscious manner and consider environmental issues in daily life.
The interviewees differ greatly in terms of their dedication, e.g. eating a vegetarian
diet, buying mainly organic products or saving energy and water (which, of course,
also carries financial benefits). Regarding the environmental effects of travel, many
interviewees frequently trip chain and also mentioned that they try to avoid
additional journeys. Moreover, it was noted that many would be willing to use public
transport more often if there were better connections. This supports Belz's (2006)
claim that convenience for the consumer is an important aspect in sustainability
marketing. However, the flexibility and comfort of a car seem to be difficult to
substitute with public transport. Here, a persons environmental consciousness might
be the catalyst behind the decision to use public transport instead of the car.

4.2 Influence of situational and external factors

Most interviewees, including those living in cities, use a car for their shopping trips;
only one person occasionally uses public transport modes for grocery shopping or
other purchases, testifying to the unattractiveness of public transport for shopping
trips. The main impediment to using public transport mentioned was large shopping
baskets. Multi-purpose shopping was not explicitly acknowledged as a barrier to
using public transport. Although most interviewees trip chain often, some do their
grocery shopping as a single trip. Many have a detailed list but are also open-minded
to impulse buying (except interviewee L, who only buys things from his list). There
are only small differences in behaviour between grocery and other shopping; in both
cases, cars are the main mode of transport and nearly all interviewees try to connect
9

trips. Hence, the influence of products appears to be quite small. Whilst in general,
most interviewees did not have enjoyable shopping destinations for which they
would be willing to travel long distances, interviewees B, K and I undertake longer
trips to favoured shopping centres or other cities. These trips are infrequent and
planned to buy many things at once. Interviewee I even used the train to go shopping
in another city.
Regarding the external variables, the public transport supply is an important driver of
transport mode choice. On the whole, the interviewees evaluated public transport
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negatively. They predominantly mentioned poor connections, e.g. few services per
day or lengthy travel times, as the main reason. Hence, the availability of public
transport greatly influences the transport mode choice. Most interviewees mentioned
insufficient connections as the main reason for not using public transport,
particularly in rural but also urban areas. Some also cited high fares as another
factor. However, the majority of interviewees stated that they would be willing to use
public transport if there were better connections and, therefore, the main advantage
of using the car instead of public transport was flexibility. One person
(interviewee N) disclosed that she prefers walking or driving because public
transport is usually crowded and she perceives a high risk of illness, especially in the
wintertime.

4.3 Shopper types

After the systematic analysis, a customer segmentation was developed, mainly
focusing on the life cycles. However, despite having similar life cycle backgrounds,
consumers might differ in personal characteristics and react differently to situational
and external factors. To gain a deeper understanding of various types of consumer
behaviour, we structured the interviewees with respect to different characteristics.
Thus, the information gained in the interviews was used to develop a typology that
provides a broader perspective on consumer behaviour.
The interviews revealed that, in particular, the expectations of flexibility and comfort
diverge among the interviewees. Hence, the most relevant aspects for travel
behaviour and transport mode choices are the planning and the role transport modes
have to fulfil for the consumer. Table IV describes the four segments identified
10
10

The Nave, The Rational, The Spontaneous and The Optimizer in general
and according to the aforementioned aspects planning and role of transport
mode. Furthermore, it illustrates how the segments are linked to the specific life
cycles.
>> Table IV here
Table IV shows that all people with children were grouped as Rational or Nave. This
indicates that these people have a high need for planning and comfort in transport
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mode choices in their daily lives. In contrast, people without children can either
behave more flexibly, e.g. by going shopping when food is needed, or be more
optimizing, e.g. by planning detailed or intensive trips to get the cheapest offer. In
general, flexibility and comfort seem to be the most important aspects of travel
behaviour. Therefore, these aspects should be the focus when aiming to improve the
environmental friendliness of shopping trips by choosing respective transport modes.
Furthermore, the typology illustrates that consumer segments should be addressed
differently to enhance the use of more environmentally friendly transport modes. For
instance, the Nave should be provided with information about transport alternatives,
clarifying that they are attractive and can fulfil their needs. The Rational generally
considers other transport modes but mainly feels that they do not meet their
requirements, such as a high degree of flexibility. In this case, an improvement of
transport modes regarding flexibility seems necessary. The Spontaneous requires
transport modes that support his or her behaviour, including a low level of planning
and a high degree of spontaneity. These needs are difficult to meet with the limited
timetables and restricted service of public transport, and thus its use is hindered. The
Optimizer mainly uses the car because it offers support for his or her behaviour. For
instance, only one perfectly planned shopping trip is conducted per week, leading to
one huge shopping basket, or purchases at various retailers are connected to gain the
best price. In general, public transport modes lack the flexibility required to connect
stops at different retailers or the comfort necessary for bringing huge shopping
baskets home. Here, the usefulness of transport modes should be improved and
communicated, for instance by using delivery services to enhance the attractiveness
of public transport use.
11
11

In addition to the information on consumer behaviour, the expectations consumers

have of retailers and policy makers with regard to environmental aspects were also
evaluated in the interviews. The main results, with a focus on travel behaviour, are
presented in the following.

4.4 Expectations from retailers and policy makers

When the interviewees were asked about their expectations for the environmental
performance of retailers, they mainly cited aspects related to assortment, packaging
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or commitment to social and environmental issues. Aspects of consumer travel were

only mentioned by the interviewees when the interviewer asked about it directly,
perhaps indicating that their travel behaviour has become routine and they do not
really think about other options. This emphasises the importance of interventions by
retailers and policy makers to break such habits. An interesting option might be
delivery services, which can curb environmental pollution (Cairns, 2005). When
asked about the willingness to use services such as home delivery, most interviewees
declared that they disliked using them. It was primarily stated that shopping in
person is preferred because they can explore the assortment offered. In addition,
some interviewees mentioned the social component of shopping, such as meeting
neighbours. This result supports the findings of Belz (2006), who found few
opportunities for delivery services.
At this point, a more detailed examination of consumer characteristics is required to
evaluate which consumers might be receptive to delivery services. Interviewee L
only buys items he noted earlier on his shopping list and mentioned that he would be
very willing to use a delivery service, as it would save him time. Interviewee H came
up with the suggestion of doing the shopping herself but having it delivered to her
home by the retailer. This would enable her to walk or go by bike, and she would not
have to go home directly after shopping but could instead do some other errands as
well on the same tour. Interviewee F expressed an interest in a service that provides
cooking recipes and delivers the necessary ingredients to the customers home. He
could also imagine submitting his shopping list online and then picking up the
shopping bags at the store. However, he has not yet tried these services, as his wife
remains unconvinced of their usefulness. Once, interviewee I used a department
12

stores delivery service that was offered for free when she spontaneously bought a
playhouse for her children and was in the city by bike. Interviewee A already
receives the so-called green box (Grne Kiste in German), which contains local
fruits and vegetables and is delivered once a week by a local farmer. She also has a
subscription at Amazon.de to supply her regularly with necessary household goods,
such as toilet paper. This usage demonstrates that these business concepts already
receive some attention and can be successful.
In particular, delivery concepts seem attractive to people who plan their shopping in
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detail (and do not act spontaneously) or who are highly stressed in their daily lives.
Moreover, delivery services offering additional utility such as the green box or the
complete package with cooking recipes might be valued highly. This could also give
retailers a great opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors by reaching
a unique sustainable selling position (Belz, 2006).
The interviewees differed greatly in their opinions on the influence and
responsibilities of policy makers. Whilst some mentioned that sufficient information
is provided and that policy makers are doing enough to contribute to environmental
sustainability in Germany, others said that they expect greater efforts. When asked
about travel issues, the interviewees mainly mentioned better connections on public
transport as a way to reduce their car use. However, others added that capacity
utilizations are also important, particularly in rural regions. For instance,
interviewee D mentioned that a shuttle bus for bringing tourists to a nearby castle
drives past her house several times per day, and every time she sees the bus it is
either empty or nearly empty. She therefore questions whether offering this shuttle is
sensible or just causes additional pollution. Consequently, policy makers must
examine this in greater detail to ensure that the transport modes are actually used.
This discussion makes it clear that retailers and policy makers should try to gain as
deep an understanding of consumer behaviour as possible in order to offer
appropriate solutions that fit the consumers needs and help prevent environmental
damage. Some interviewees also expressed resignation, as they believe either that
they can have little effect on environmental impacts or that other consumers do not
care enough about these issues. It was also noted that industries are huge polluters
and that policy makers should focus on addressing these companies instead of
13
13

consumers. Here, retailers and policy makers should try to clarify the impact that
each consumer can have on the environmental effects of shopping travel behaviour.
This is supported by lander and Thgersen (1995), who declare that policies
increasing a feeling of empowerment may also have a positive effect on consumer
motivation to make an effort.

5 Discussion
In contrast to earlier research, the broader approach of this study provides a

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comprehensive perspective on the influencing factors and effects of consumer

shopping travel behaviour. The synthesis of various influencing factors in an
integrated framework is an important first contribution of this paper. Second, the
qualitative research approach shed light on interactions between influencing factors
while providing a life cycle model and a more general shopper typology, which help
in understanding individual motivations for choosing more or less environmentally
friendly transport modes. We discuss this now in greater detail.
It was found that two main aspects hinder environmentally friendly behaviour: the
negative evaluation of public transport and the perceived mobility necessity of the
different life cycles, which affects parents in particular. The most important issues in
travel mode choices are related to comfort and flexibility. Furthermore, it was
determined that consumers differ in their behaviour with respect to the planning of
shopping trips and the evaluation of transport modes.
Incorporating these results, researchers should address consumers needs and
characteristics in further detail. As the life cycle situation has a considerable impact
on shopping travel behaviour, future research should try to incorporate different
groups of consumers to achieve more specific results. Furthermore, personal
characteristics are relevant, as the willingness to change behaviour can differ.
Consumers vary in their environmental consciousness, leading to differing
predispositions for environmental issues. Moreover, the way consumers plan and
conduct their shopping trips diverges, resulting in different starting points for
addressing changes. Hence, researchers should try to evaluate the respondents
characteristics to identify applicable approaches.

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14

Unexpectedly, the interviewees did not vary their transport modes considerably, so it
was impossible to further determine the relationship between transport mode choice
and trip complexity. However, this outcome might indicate that the topic is not as
relevant as suspected in earlier research. Nevertheless, the results are supported by
Lo et al. (2013), who found that the change between transport modes was relatively
low with respect to working trips. To learn more about this, future research should
analyse this aspect further, perhaps by conducting interviews only in cities to
increase the probability of switching transport mode. Moreover, it would be
interesting to address users of different transport modes directly in order to evaluate
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their perceptions and behaviour. In addition, future research should address this issue
by incorporating cultural differences. For instance, bicycles are common transport
modes in India and the Netherlands, whilst cycling is more of a leisure activity in the
USA (van Herk et al., 2005).
Moreover, the results add knowledge on how certain theories should be developed
further. It was shown that consumers tend to underestimate the impact they can have
on environmental effects; this aspect should be analysed in greater detail to evaluate
how consumer efforts towards sustainability can be enhanced. It was also revealed
that comfort and flexibility are very important for consumer behaviour. Therefore,
these aspects should be evaluated as characteristics in quantitative methods for
calculating utility functions, e.g. conjoint analyses or discrete choice models. For
instance, flexibility could be evaluated by the frequency with which public transport
is offered (e.g. every 5 minutes, every 30 minutes). The aspect of comfort can be
evaluated using, for instance, additional information on extra space for prams,
implying family friendliness. By incorporating these aspects, more can be learnt
about the relevance they have for the various life cycle groups, as it can be assumed
that utility values differ between the groups.
In addition, implications can be deduced for retailers who want to improve their
image regarding sustainability issues and policy makers who want to encourage
environmentally friendly behaviour. In general, there seems to be a communication
problem. As mentioned above, consumers undervalue their impact on environmental
issues. Some interviewees mentioned that they do not have a significant impact and
that they expect policy makers and industries to start with mitigating environmental
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impacts. Therefore, the communication policies of retailers and policy makers must
first be enhanced. Consumers should receive more detailed information about the
effects of their behaviour, clarifying the high impact they have, and thus motivating
consumers to improve their behaviour and perhaps achieving a significant reduction
in environmental pollution. In a second step, retailers and policy makers should
support consumers in enhancing their behaviour. Some starting points for this are
discussed in the following.
For retailers, offering delivery services would be an option for reducing consumer
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journeys and substituting them with more efficient processes. However, as the
interviews indicated that most consumers prefer shopping on their own, delivery
services seem to have little chance of success. Nevertheless, some interviewees
expressed an interest in such business ideas. Innovative delivery concepts could be
made more attractive by adding an extra value, such as the idea of providing a recipe
and the related ingredients as a service. This is supported by Belz (2006), who
suggests that delivery services should concentrate on niche markets or add
differential criteria to traditional business models. Hence, retailers should focus on
innovative concepts that offer extra value to the consumers, which might result in a
unique sustainable selling position being reached (Belz, 2006). Some interviewees
were also open-minded to services such as doing the shopping themselves but having
the goods delivered to their homes. This approach would enable walking or cycling
to the stores, as the consumers would not have to carry their shopping home.
Furthermore, trip chaining might be facilitated as the consumer could run other
errands together with his or her shopping trip. This aspect can also be supported by
shopping agglomerations, which facilitate trip chaining.
Transport service providers should improve the child friendliness of public
transport modes to increase their use, e.g. more space for prams or special fares for
families. The analysis for different consumer types regarding general shopping
behaviour yielded four types that vary in their transport mode requirements.
Therefore, in addition to sociodemographic aspects, the differences in consumer
types should be considered. For instance, an amalgamation of private and public
transport might become important in the future, as interviewees often cited issues of
flexibility and comfort. Hence, more flexible transport modes, such as shared taxis,
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are needed to fulfil the needs of consumers. As some consumer types seem to be set
on using their cars, the policy should improve the perception of public transport and
point out the existence of other possibilities. Here again, aspects of communication
policy are highly relevant. The interviewees often trip chain, which should be
considered in urban planning in order to facilitate environmentally friendly
behaviour. Retail agglomerations should be created to provide opportunities for
multi-purpose shopping. Moreover, people might favour nearby job-site locations
because of their ability to make midday personal business tours (Ben-Akiva et al.,
1998, p. 12). Urban planning that incorporates work and shopping places, i.e. multiDownloaded by UNIVERSITAS TRISAKTI At 21:13 08 April 2015 (PT)

mix land use, can support this and enhance environmentally friendly behaviour.
The limitations of this study are similar to those related to qualitative studies in
general (Maxwell, 2008; Sinkovics et al., 2005). In particular, the sample size and
composition might have influenced the results. Most of the interviewees own a car
that they use as their primary means of transport, which limits the information that
can be gained about switching transport modes. However, bearing in mind the high
level of car ownership in Germany, the results might be representative for this
market. An important aspect in qualitative research is the discussion of its
generalizability. The study was conducted in Germany, but the use and perception of
transport modes may differ in other countries, as mentioned above for bicycles in
India or the USA (van Herk et al., 2005). Therefore, different results might emerge
for other countries.

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Biographical Notes
Anne Wiese was a research assistant and PhD candidate at the Chair of Retailing,
Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen, Germany. She finished her thesis in 2013. Her
research focuses on sustainability issues in retailing and supply chain management as
well as on CSR, and organic and Fair Trade products. Since 2014 she is working as

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Corporate Responsibility Manager for a logistics service provider.

Stephan Zielke is Associate Professor at MAPP - Centre for Research on Customer

Relations in the Food Sector, Aarhus University, Denmark. He received his PhD
from the University of Cologne and worked afterwards at the Georg-AugustUniversitt Gttingen (both Germany) and Rouen Business School, France. His
research focuses on retail marketing, especially retail pricing, instore marketing,
store brands and sustainability issues.

Waldemar Toporowski holds the Chair of Retailing at the Georg-August-Universitt

Gttingen, Germany. He received his PhD in 1995 from the University of Cologne,
before he joined the Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen in 2003. His research
focuses on retailing and distribution, especially marketing channels, retail logistics,
retail technologies, and store brands.

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Influence
Sociodemographic
characteristics

Questions
How do the influencing factors differ between several life cycle
stages? How do children influence the use of public transport?
How do the interviewees evaluate their perceived mobility
necessity? What is the influence of the perceived mobility necessity
on the behaviour?

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Personal
characteristics

How do consumers perceive the public transport modes in their

area?
How does a persons environmental consciousness affect the travel
behaviour?

Situational
variables

How do the goods to be purchased influence the shopping trip

behaviour? How is transport mode choice related to trip chain
complexity? How does multi-purpose shopping influence the
behaviour? How does the availability of a car influence the use of
public transport?
How do enjoyable or important destinations affect the travel
behaviour?

External variables

How do external factors (i.e. design of transport systems, weather)

affect choices of travel behaviour?

Table I. Questions for the qualitative analysis

Phase in Life Cycle

Residential Location
Low-Order

Middle-Order

High-Order

Younger person
without children

Person with preschool

children

Person with school

children

Older person with outof-house children / no

children

Retired person

Table II. Selection of interviewees

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Characteristics
Life Cycle

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Everyday Life

Perceived
Mobility
Necessity

Relevance of
Car

Perception of
Public
Transport

1. Younger
person
without
children

life is mainly
structured
around
work/education

important for
work/education
and leisure time

not needed in
urban areas;
highly relevant
in rural areas

inflexible;
insufficient in
rural areas

2. Person
with
preschool
children

children become
important part of
life; habits are
changed

in the beginning,
one parent stays
at home

provides comfort
and helps in
transporting the
pram etc.

uncomfortable;
insufficient in
rural areas

life is very much

planned around
the children and
their
appointments

children require
many journeys
and high
flexibility

provides the
flexibility
needed

not flexible
enough;
connections are
insufficient;
children have to
wait too long

only have to
plan for
themselves;
spontaneous

mainly work and

shopping trips

provides
flexibility

not flexible
enough;
connections are
insufficient

walking and
using public
transport
becomes
difficult; much
time spent at
home

varies with age

and health

provides
freedom and
comfort

connections are
insufficient;
expensive;
uncomfortable

3. Person
with school
children
4. Older
person
with outof-house
children /
no children

5. Retired
person

Table III. Important characteristics of the five life cycles

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Consumer Type
and Related Life
Cycles

The Nave
Life cycle: 2

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The Rational
Life cycles:
1, 2, 3, 4

The Spontaneous
Life cycles: 4, 5

The Optimizer
Life cycles: 4, 5

Characteristics
General Description

Planning

Role of Transport
Mode

does not really

question his or her
behaviour, e.g. the car
is used because it is
there

plans sometimes;
shopping lists are only
written for special
things

does not question

transport mode
choices; mode mainly
needs to be
comfortable

is behaving rationally
but not as extremely
as the Optimizer, e.g.
trips are connected
with dropping off
their children

plans mainly to
facilitate the shopping

chooses a transport
mode that fits the
requirements, e.g.
saving time and being
flexible

has a basic
organization but is
quite flexible, e.g.
going shopping when
things are needed

plans sometimes;
shopping lists are only
written for special
things

chooses a transport
mode that is flexible
and supports his or her
spontaneity

plans a lot and tries to

optimize the shopping
trip or the prices of
the things bought, e.g.
various stores are
visited to reach the
lowest prices for the
shopping basket

plans a lot to optimize

the shopping trip, e.g.
a shopping list is
written with respect to
recent advertising

chooses a transport
mode that fits the
requirements, e.g.
being flexible to reach
many stores or being
comfortable

Table IV. Shopper typology

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Figure I. Relevant influencing factors on shopping travel behaviour and its environmental
effects

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