The impact of age and family life experiences on Mexican visitor shopping expenditures

Mexican Nationals frequently visit border towns and other cities in the United States that are in close proximity to their areas of residence for the main purpose of shopping at popular malls and outlet centers. However, it is somewhat difficult to gather the necessary information in order to profile the visitors and develop marketing strategies for targeting the appropriate market segments. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key target markets for U.S. shopping malls based on the age and family life experiences (i.e., marriage and having children) of the Mexican visitors. First, a three-factor ANOVA analysis is used to examine the impact of these characteristics on shopping expenditures, including the interaction effects. Then, a cluster analysis is performed in order to segment the market using age and the family life experience variables. Finally, recommendations are provided based on the expenditures and trip behavior by family life cycle stage.