Exploring Landscape Visual Attraction and Consumption Conversion Mechanisms in Historic and Cultural Districts: A Perspective on the Experience Economy

Abstract

Driven by the experience economy, historical and cultural districts around the world face an urgent need to transform from static preservation to dynamic consumption and cultural heritage synergy. However, in practice, most districts (such as Shangxiahang in Fuzhou) overemphasize macrocommercial planning, neglecting the dynamic impact of microlandscape spaces on tourists’ visual perception and consumption behavior, leading to the dilemma of high traffic, low conversion. This study, using the Shangxiahang historical and cultural districts in Fuzhou as a case study, synthesizes landscape visual attraction theory with the experience economy theory to establish a research framework centered on the visual stimulus–perceptual response–behavioral transformation chain. By dissecting the visual stimuli system, dual-path perception mechanisms, and economic transformation strategies and employing fully convolutional network (FCN) image semantic segmentation and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 31.0) multivariate statistical modeling, this research systematically uncovers the transmission mechanism of landscape visual elements on consumption behavior, achieving a multidimensional integration of spatial sequence, visual elements, and the experience economy. Key findings include the following: (1) The initial 20% of the spatial sequence accounts for 62% of consumption decisions, with visual attraction following a dual-path mechanism involving exogenous stimulus (popular photo spots) and endogenous tracking (architectural history and culture). (2) There is a nonlinear relationship between visual stimulus intensity and consumption conversion. At a stimulus intensity threshold of 4.5 points, tourist stay duration can be extended by 50%, and the consumption conversion rate can be increased to 25%. (3) The gradient configuration of the spatial sequence significantly impacts the transformation of consumption kinetic energy. This research validates the effectiveness of the FCN-SPSS interdisciplinary method in microlandscape quantification, offering a data-driven solution to the high visitor volume but low conversion rate dilemma in historical blocks and facilitating their transformation into immersive consumption spaces.