Tax free shopping expert Global Blue has discovered that a cohort of what it calls elite shoppers spend on average $60,000 per year as they travel the world’s hottest retail destinations.
The current Coronavirus crisis will have top end retailers sweating, because the importance of wealthy Chinese travelers cannot be overstated.
They account for 40% of the global total of Elite shoppers, miles ahead of people from South East Asia at 15%, the Gulf countries at 14%, USA at 6% and Russia at 6%.
It is estimated that more than half of all luxury watches sold by Swatch Group around the world are bought by Chinese shoppers at home or abroad.