Global Blue publishes January 2023 Duty Free Shopping Business Monthly Update

SIGNY, Switzerland, 09 February 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New data from Global Blue (NYSE:GB) shows that the dynamic recovery for duty-free shopping has continued to strengthen across Continental Europe and Asia Pacific.

In Continental Europe, released same-store sales recovered stabilized at 106%¹ in January versus the same period in 2019. This strong recovery is despite an unfavorable comparison basis due to the Orthodox New Year and the start of the Chinese New Year. American citizens continue to lead the recovery in the region.

In Asia Pacific, the dynamic recovery continues, reaching 96%¹ in January versus the same period in 2019. Japan remains the leader in the region with a strong and sustained recovery.

The reopening of China’s border on January 8 has led to a slight acceleration of recovery by mainland Chinese buyers in both Mainland Europe and Asia Pacific. However, a gradual return to 2019 levels is expected.

A Stabilized Recovery in Continental Europe
In Continental Europe, the recovery has stabilized at 106%¹ in January 2023 versus the same period in 2019. Within the reopened travel corridors²recovery reached 147%².

Regarding markets of origin, Global Blue data shows a steady recovery in most nationalities. US Nationals’ recovery continues to reach new highs, with a 297% recovery¹ compared to the same period of 2019, while citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council reached 224%¹ compared to the same period of 2019.

Asian buyer recovery continues to progress with Southeast Asian buyer recovery reaching 153%¹ compared to the same period in 2019. The recovery of Hong Kong and Taiwanese buyers has increased with a recovery of 139%¹ compared to the same period of 2019.

In the conditions of destination markets, Mediterranean countries are at the forefront of recovery. The recovery was led mainly by France with 145%¹Portugal at 144%¹Greece with 139%¹Spain at 120%¹and Switzerland with 107%¹.

Progressive recovery in all destinations in Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, the recovery reached 96%¹ in January versus the same period in 2019. Within the reopened travel corridors²recovery reached 158%¹.

The story continues

In the conditions of home markets, Hong Kong and Taiwan nationals driving recovery to 385%¹ in January versus the same period in 2019. This was followed by North East Asian nationals at 159%¹and Southeast Asian nationals at 133%¹.

Regarding destination marketsJapan leads recovery with 116%¹. After Japan, the recovery was closely followed by South Korea at 76%¹and Singapore at 70%¹.

A gradual recovery for Chinese buyers
The reopening of borders on January 8 has led to a slight acceleration of the recovery by mainland Chinese buyers. Recovery reached 22%¹ in Continental Europe (+4 percentage points compared to December) and 38%¹ in Asia Pacific (+8 ppt compared to December), despite limited air capacity at 10%. Destinations without additional testing requirements are experiencing a stronger recovery, such as Switzerland with a recovery at 35%¹and Singapore at 45%¹.

In January, Chinese shoppers’ willingness to travel hit a record high of 76%³. However, a gradual recovery is expected due to limited air capacity. According to ForwardKeys data, air capacity recovery from China to Continental Europe and Asia Pacific should reach 25% in the second quarter.

ANNEX

vocabulary

– Gulf Cooperation Council countries include: Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman
– Southeast Asia include: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore
– Northeast Asia include: Japan, South Korea

YTD data

ABOUT BLUE GLOBAL
Global Blue pioneered the concept of tax-free shopping 40 years ago. Through continuous innovation, we have become the leading strategic technology and payments partner, empowering retailers to improve their performance and shoppers to improve their experience.

Global Blue offers innovative solutions in three different areas:

• Tax free shopping: It helps retailers at over 300,000 points of sale to efficiently manage 35 million tax-free shopping transactions annually, thanks to its fully integrated technology platform. Meanwhile, its industry-leading solutions for duty-free shoppers create a better and smoother customer experience.

• Payment services: Providing a complete set of foreign exchange and payment technology solutions that allow buyers, hotels and merchants to provide value-added services and improve the customer experience during 31 million payment transactions annually at 130,000 interaction points.

• Complementary Retail Technology: Providing retailers with new technology solutions, including digital invoices and e-commerce returns, that can be easily integrated with their core systems and allow them to optimize and digitize their processes throughout the multi-channel customer journey, such as in store and online.

In addition, our data and advisory services provide strategic advice to help vendors identify opportunities for growth, while our buyer experience and engagement solutions provide data-driven solutions for Increased foot traffic converts to revenue AND increase performance.

For more information, visit http://www.globalblue.com/corporate/

Global Blue Speaker Monthly Note Data January 2023, Source: Global Blue

¹ The recovery rate is equal to released store sales in 2023 divided by released store sales in 2019, like-for-like (ie, with constant dealer scope and exchange rates).

² An open corridor is defined as a line of travel between two countries, where there are no longer sanitary or visa restrictions to go to the country of destination and return to the country of origin.

³ According to the Global Blue Monthly Travel Sentiment barometer

Check out the source version at businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230209005117/en/

contacts

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Virginie Alem – SVP Marketing & Communications
Mail: valem@globalblue.com

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