Global connectivity, local consumption, and Chinese immigrant experience

Abstract

Acquiring consumer goods and services in the destination country signifies a different type of immigrant experience. This is especially pertinent in world cities where there is a strong presence of ethnic economies and where co-ethnic businesses and mainstream businesses compete against each other. The consumption pattern of immigrants is influenced not only by their pre-migration shopping habits, but also their post-migration transnational behaviour. In this paper, we focus on the consumption experience of Chinese immigrants in Toronto, which hosts one of the largest Chinese ethnic economies outside Asia. Based on a random survey and two focus group discussions, we explore how Chinese immigrants choose between ethnic Chinese and mainstream supermarkets, electronic stores and travel agencies. In theory, Chinese and non-Chinese stores providing similar goods and services are substitutes. The study however reveals intriguing results. Chinese and mainstream travel agencies are substitutes but Chinese and mainstream supermarkets and electronic stores are complements. Such differences reflect the importance of ethnicity and culture in immigrants' consumption behaviour. The paper provides new evidence on immigrant integration in the domain of consumption and contributes a consumer perspective to the literature on ethnic economy and transnationalism.

Growing shopping malls and behaviour of urban shoppers

“…Shoppers visiting large malls choose to shop either in ethnic shops or for mainstream store brands located inside the malls. Such shopping behaviour is observed when ethnic economies and mainstream businesses, both of which have a strong presence in large shopping malls, compete against each other ( Wang and Lo, 2007 ). Accordingly, Hypothesis 1(b) may be derived as follows:…”

Coexistence and conflicts between shopping malls and street markets in growing cities: Analysis of shoppers’ behaviour

“…Shoppers visiting large malls choose to shop between ethnic shops and mainstream store brands located inside the malls. Such behaviour of shoppers is observed when the strong presence of ethnic economies and mainstream businesses in large shopping malls compete against each other ( Wang and Lo, 2007 ).…”

Transnationalism Unbound: Detailing New Subjects, Registers and Spatialities of Cross‐Border Lives

“…It remains true, for example, that migration flows continue to be concentrated in particular cities (Li and Teixeira 2007). In part, this is because these locations act as nodal points for transnational networks, but it is also because these are sites where the transnationalism of other migrants facilitates economic, social and cultural incorporation (Ghosh 2007; Wang and Lo 2007).…”