INTERNATIONAL. Chinese consumers accounted for almost a third of tax refunds issued by Global Blue in 2012, with the company painting a healthy global picture in its latest Barometer.
After modest growth through the first three years of the financial crisis (2007-2009), Global Blue saw jumps of +30% and +27% jumps in global business in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and has now followed that up with a +30% increase in 2012.
The last three years have also seen a remarkable growth in the contribution by Chinese consumers, averaging around +50% a year. In 2012 they accounted for 29% of total spending and were the top spenders in the top five markets apart from Italy, where the Russians are still dominant.
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The rise in tax free shopping during late 2012 is higher than the rise in Chinese outbound tourism (around +25%), meaning that those who do travel are spending more per trip,” the company said, adding that the average spend on shopping per trip to Europe was €11,000.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, the year-on-year increase in sales was +46% for Chinese citizens, +34% for Russians, +22% for Indonesians and +68% for Thais. In terms of numbers of transactions, Belrus registered the highest increase (+65%), although the company pointed out their overall spend was still low.
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“However, the strong growth seen elsewhere in Asia was not replicated with Japanese travellers, with an increase of just +8% over the corresponding quarter in 2011. This followed on from a modest recovery ofin the wake of the March 2011 tsunami disaster.
“The initial, emotional surge has run out of steam, but there are also real economic factors: the Japanese economy has returned to recession, and exports to China have been severely hit by the ongoing stand-off with China over disputed territorial islands, as Chinese consumers have boycotted Japanese brands especially in the tourism (many tours in both directions have been cancelled), electronics and motor industries,” said Global Blue.
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