Global Blue Releases the Monthly Tax Free Shopping Business Update for October 2024
- Fresh data from Global Blue reveals that the worldwide growth in Tax Free Shopping is positive across Continental Europe and Asia Pacific: Issued Sales in Store like-for-like year-on-year performance reached +17%1 in October 2024.
A sustained performance in Continental Europe for international shopping
In Continental Europe, the issued Sales in Store growth rate increased by +12%1 in October 2024 vs. last year. This growth was led by a +14%1 increase in the number of shoppers and was slightly impacted by a softening of -2%1 in the average spend per shopper, as a result of an overall inflation slowdown.
When examining origin markets, the positive momentum in issued Sales in Store growth is solid across most nationalities. GCC shopper Tax Free Spend led the way at +29%1 vs. last year, followed by Mainland Chinese shoppers at +15%1 and US shoppers at +10%1.
Regarding destination markets, October showed a solid performance in Spain at +21%1 and Italy at +15%1, and France's Tax Free Spend was back to pre-Olympic levels at +10%1.
A slowdown of the hyper growth Tax Free Spend in Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, the issued Sales in Store growth reached +29%1 in October 2024, led by a +32%1 increase in the number of shoppers and a -2%1 decrease in the average spend per shopper.
The growth rate in October re-accelerated compared to +19%1 in September 2024, primarily due to a weaker Yen against the Chinese RMB.
When examining origin markets, the positive momentum in issued Sales in Store growth continued across all nationalities. Mainland Chinese Tax Free Spend led with a +50%1 increase, driven by a +76%1 rise in the number of shoppers, in the context of a solid Golden Week period2 in Japan and Singapore. Meanwhile, North East Asia Tax Free Spend grew by +17%1 vs. last year, while Hong Kong and Taiwan spending experienced a -2%1 softening vs. last year.
Regarding destination markets, October showed a strong performance across destinations, with South Korea at +42%1, Japan at +32%1, and Singapore at +16%1.
Worldwide Year-on-Year Growth Rate (2024 vs. 2023)
Issued SIS L/L Year-on-Year Growth |
Destination market weight in Issued SIS 2023 |
October 2024 |
September 2024 |
CY Q3 2024 |
CY Q2 2024 |
CY Q1 2024 |
France |
19% |
+10% |
+7% |
+2% |
+10% |
+11% |
Italy |
17% |
+15% |
+17% |
+16% |
+22% |
+29% |
Spain |
11% |
+21% |
+24% |
+24% |
+33% |
+32% |
Germany |
6% |
-5% |
-3% |
+5% |
+2% |
+6% |
Other countries |
18% |
+11% |
+7% |
+10% |
+21% |
+16% |
Total Continental Europe |
71% |
+12% |
+11% |
+11% |
+19% |
+19% |
Japan |
18% |
+32% |
+23% |
+57% |
+172% |
+137% |
Singapore |
8% |
+16% |
-2% |
-3% |
-1% |
25% |
South Korea |
2% |
+42% |
+45% |
+42% |
+60% |
110% |
Total Asia Pacific |
28% |
+42% |
+19% |
+40% |
+109% |
97% |
Total Latin America |
1% |
+32% |
+19% |
+23% |
-2% |
+9% |
Total worldwide |
100% |
+17% |
+13% |
+19% |
+41% |
40% |
Worldwide Recovery Rate (versus 2019)
| Issued SIS L/L
recovery (in % of 2019) |
Destination market weight in Issued SIS 2019 |
October 2024 |
September 2024 |
CY Q3 2024 |
CY Q2 2024 |
CY Q1 2024 |
France |
16% |
150% |
158% |
144% |
164% |
165% |
Italy |
17% |
144% |
155% |
146% |
156% |
123% |
Spain |
10% |
158% |
169% |
161% |
164% |
151% |
Germany |
9% |
66% |
79% |
75% |
80% |
65% |
Other countries |
19% |
121% |
127% |
126% |
132% |
126% |
Total Continental Europe |
71% |
131% |
141% |
133% |
143% |
128% |
Japan |
14% |
293% |
243% |
290% |
327% |
232% |
Singapore |
11% |
87% |
74% |
81% |
92% |
92% |
South Korea |
3% |
163% |
163% |
162% |
158% |
125% |
Total Asia Pacific |
28% |
191% |
162% |
186% |
226% |
166% |
Total Latin America |
1% |
132% |
142% |
104% |
101% |
94% |
Total worldwide |
100% |
146% |
146% |
145% |
165% |
140% |
APPENDIX
GLOSSARY
- European Non-EU countries include: Shoppers who can reach destination by land transportation or less than a two hour flight. Ex: Swiss, British, Ukraine etc.
- Gulf Cooperation Council countries include: Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman
- North East Asia countries includes: Japan, South Korea
- South East Asia countries includes: Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore
ABOUT GLOBAL BLUE
Global Blue is the business partner for the shopping journey, providing technology and services to enhance the experience and drive performance.
With over 40 years of expertise, today we connect thousands of retailers, acquirers, and hotels with nearly 80 million consumers across 53 countries, in three industries: Tax Free Shopping, Payments and Post-Purchase solutions.
With over 2,000 employees, Global Blue generated €28bn Sales in Store and €422M revenue in FY 2023/24. Global Blue is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.globalblue.com
Global Blue Monthly Intelligence Briefing, October 2024, Source: Global Blue
1 Growth rate variation year-on-year (2024 vs. the same period in 2023)
2 October 1 to October 7, 2024
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