The Chinese, Russians and Arabs take advantage of the visit to Germany for shopping. You give out when Shopping in the Federal Republic today is more than twice as much as ten years ago, and to be courted by the trade.
The Neuschwanstein castle, the Cologne Cathedral and the Brandenburg gate are no longer the only attractions that lure tourists to Germany. At least as attractive to many travellers from abroad will find, in the meantime, the Berlin-based luxury store KaDeWe, precious buy-shopping miles like the Königsallee in Düsseldorf or Bargain paradises such as the outlet city of Metzingen.
Example, KaDeWe, with Only around half of the year, around ten million customers in Berlin’s luxury-goods house living in the metropolis, as the head of the KaDeWe group André Maeder revealed some time ago. “The other half consists of about equal Parts of German and international tourists”. Especially tourists from Non-EU countries, such as China, Russia and the Gulf States love to shop – because you can have at the exit of the VAT refund.
Shopping spending doubled
While the local clientele found in the past years, also due to the rise of online Commerce, is increasingly rare the way in the German inner cities, increased the number of tourists from Non-EU countries in the last ten years, by a whopping 75 per cent to over 16 million. The duty-free Shopping expenditure of this group have more than doubled – from 1.0 to 2.5 billion Euro, as a recent study by the Cologne-based retail research Institute EHI in the order of the Tax Free service provider Global Blue show.
A shopping temple: Kaufhof Avenue Department store at the düsseldorf Royal
Extremely willing to consume, especially the Chinese proved to be thus. On about 40 percent of the Tax-Free sales accounted for according to the study. Place the tourists from Russia, followed at a considerable distance, on rank three, holidaymakers from the Gulf States. Together, the tourists from these three regions of the United nearly two-thirds of the duty-free Shopping sales in Germany. Most fashion and clothing will be bought. The fact half of all expenditure was accounted for by the EHI reported. The popularity of watches and jewelry, with a turnover share of 30 percent followed accordingly.
To pay with Alipay
The trade is striving to make the well-traveled customers the shopping experience as simple as possible. So Chinese tourists can pay in more and more stores in Germany with Alipay, the payment service of Chinese e-Commerce giant Alibaba. The Department store group Kaufhof accept Alipay, as well as the fashion retailer Breuninger, or, the drugstore chains Rossmann and dm. It is intended to offer visitors from China, a method of payment, “with the help of which you are familiar”, stressed dm Manager Martin Dallmeier.
Most of the Shopping metropolises of Munich, Frankfurt and Berlin in Germany benefit from the desire to buy to the Shopping tourists. With some distance, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne to follow. In many of the better homes and precious boutiques is staff, the Mandarin, Russian or Arabic speaking, therefore, nothing Unusual in that more. Completely risk free, the increased focus on the customer groups from abroad for the retailers but is not.
Also a popular destination for Chinese tourists: Berlin
Also the Swiss and the Americans think!
This was just in the past few years. Although the expenditure of the tourists were from Non-EU countries to 2018 with around 2.5 billion euros, much higher than it was even ten years ago. But also significantly lower than in the record year of 2015, as in Germany for more than EUR 3.6 billion in duty-free was purchased. For the slump in sales there were a whole range of reasons, stated in the EHI study: first of All, the introduction of import tariffs on luxury goods in China. “Chinese tourists overseas bought Goods worth more than 5000 Yuan (about 650 euros), and will have to pay out for 2016 of between 30 and 70 per cent tax, which has dampened the pure price incentive of the Chinese Shopping tourism”, – stated in the EHI study.
According to a study by the consulting firm Bain, luxury market, more and more Chinese are buying now in your home country to design clothes and precious watches. The economic problems in Russia have also meant that the number of Russian tourists was temporarily dropped significantly. And also in the Arab region, there have been similar problems. However, the industry connoisseurs of the Institute for a proposal on how the dealers in Germany, the risk of Shopping tourism can reduce. You recommend: The retailers should also take the tourists from Switzerland and the USA to target and you better on the benefits of duty-free shopping to enlighten.