Global Blue releases Tax Free Shopping business update for August

New data from Global Blue reveals that the overall global dynamic recovery for Tax Free Shopping has remained stable in Continental Europe, with a continued acceleration in Asia Pacific. Globally, issued Sales in Store like-for-like recovery reached 119% in August versus 121% in July and 118% in Q2 2023. In Continental Europe, the recovery remains generally stable, with a slight softening to 114% in August vs. 118% in July and 121% in Q2 2023. Excluding Mainland Chinese and Russian shoppers, recovery would have reached 158% in August. In terms of origin markets, US residents have maintained a strong level of recovery, reaching 261% in August vs. 257% in July and 270% in Q2 2023. In contrast, Gulf Cooperation Council shopper recovery has marginally softened to 170% in August vs. 221% in July and 224% in Q2 2023. This is mainly attributed to a high basis of comparison, owing to the Eid al-Adha celebration in August 2019 when the base of shoppers was significantly inflated, while this year’s celebration occurred in June. Regarding destination markets, August witnessed an overall stable recovery across most destinations, with Greece at 165%, France at 134%, Italy at 124%, Spain at 122% and Switzerland at 116%. In Asia Pacific, the recovery rate remains at high levels, reaching 133% in August vs. 134% in July and 111% in Q2 2023. When excluding Mainland Chinese shoppers, the recovery would have reached 175% in August. Regarding origin markets, Mainland Chinese shoppers, along with Hong Kong and Taiwan residents, continued to drive the strong recovery in Asia Pacific. Mainland Chinese shoppers surpassed 2019 levels for the first time, with a recovery rate reaching 109% in August vs. 100% in July and 60% in Q2 2023. The recovery for Hong Kong and Taiwan residents remains solid, reaching 461% in August vs. 393% in July and 395% in Q2 2023. Following closely are North East Asia residents, with a recovery rate of 195%1 in August vs. 191% in July and 150% in Q2 2023. When examining destination markets, Japan continues to take the lead with a Sales in Store like-for-like recovery propelling to 189% in August, followed by South Korea at 112%. In August, the Sales in Store like-for-like recovery of Mainland China shoppers within the Asia Pacific region was very strong, reaching 109%. This was driven by the progressive increase in air capacity and a significant increase in the average spend per shopper vs. 2019. In contrast, the Sales in Store like-for-like recovery of Mainland China shoppers in Continental Europe reached 41% despite a 54% air capacity recovery. The main reasons explaining this slower performance in Continental Europe are the lead time required for visa issuance, the absence of group travel so far and a more moderate increase in average spend per shopper at 46%. This more moderate increase in recovery could be attributed to a higher presence of the younger generation shoppers in Continental Europe, with less purchasing power, as well as less favorable exchange rates for Chinese shoppers in Continental Europe compared to Asia Pacific.