Shopping, Borders and Unfamiliarity: Consumer Mobility in Europe

Abstract

National borders are often considered to constrain the international flow of products, services, people and capital. However, borders and differences between countries could also promote cross-border mobility. This contribution investigates what discourages and encourages cross-border shopping mobility. This is done by categorising differences between countries into more 'rational differences' on the one hand and more 'emotional differences' on the other hand. Furthermore, the 'bandwidth of unfamiliarity' concept is introduced to scrutinise how the interpretation by shoppers of both rational and emotional differences generates (im)mobility. In so doing, a 'border paradox' is discussed, where increasing cross-border integration (e.g. in the form of regional 'homogenisation') could coincide with decreasing cross-border mobility. This paradox is used here to reveal a possible flipside of the European Union policy to promote international mobility, by trying to dissolve borders between member states. Copyright (c) 2008 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.

The challenge of proximity: the (un)attractiveness of near-home tourism destinations

“…Mikkelsen & Cohen, 2015). More generally, it has been theorized that people prefer a comfortable balance between familiarity and unfamiliarity (Cohen, 1979;Edensor, 2007), with certain destinations and activities falling within people's bandwidth of unfamiliarity (Spierings & Van Der Velde, 2008) and others not.…”

Assessing geographical effects in spatial diffusion processes: The case of euro coins

“…Another way to obtain a reasonable parameter is to observe crossborder mobility, though this information is rare and likely to vary by purpose and socio-economic group. According to Spierings and Van Der Velde (2008), cross-border shopping mobility between Germany and the Netherlands would concern 0.6% of the shopping trips, which can be rounded at one cross-border shopping trip per year and per inhabitant. Since our model includes a broader set of mobilities, setting μ = 0.1 is a rather reasonable-though minimal-assumption.…”

Symmetry or asymmetry? Cross-border openness of service providers in Polish-Czech and Polish-German border towns

“…), and push factors (pushing people from their motherland, shopping abroad is perceived as more attractive, etc.). The factors which reduce cross-border mobility include "keep" factors (discouraging citizens from leaving their country) and "repel" factors (discouraging citizens from visiting the neighbouring country), and as a consequence the differences between the home and foreign country are too large to accept (Spierings, Van der Velde, 2008). Different elements are relevant in shaping consumer mobility, such as, inter alia, prices, quality, the diversity of goods and services, curiosity and the sense of strangeness, an understanding of regulations, the shopping environment, and the quality of public space.…”

“…As concluded by Van der Velde and Spierings (2010), both differences that are too great and the lack of them, cause a reduction in consumer mobility. The most beneficial viewpoint from the point of its development is the position of "familiar unfamiliarity", when the other side of the border is different than ours and this is what draws us there, but when these differences are not too big and do not repel us (Spierings and Van der Velde, 2008). It has to be pointed out that, due to different conditions on both sides of the border, cross-border shopping is generally asymmetrical, although this is not static and may change (Leimgruber, 2005).…”