Majority of Chinese Shoppers Plan to Travel Internationally in 2023

The latest survey from Global Blue and Gusto Collective gives luxury brands reason to be optimistic: the majority of Chinese luxury shoppers surveyed plan to travel internationally this year. Europe is high on the agenda, with Paris ranking as the top pick among travelers.

The reopening of China's borders after a three-year hiatus presents a significant opportunity for luxury brands. In light of this news, Global Blue and Gusto Collective have partnered to create a comprehensive report. “From Insights to Actions: A blueprint for capturing the return of Chinese luxury shoppers” is a guide designed to assist luxury retailers worldwide prepare for the highly anticipated return of Chinese luxury shoppers. It offers valuable data, insights, and actionable strategies on how to deepen engagement with outbound Chinese shoppers.

China, the Biggest Opportunity for Luxury Brands

In the previous decade, Chinese shoppers became the world’s biggest luxury spenders, making one-third (€93 billion) of global sales^[1]. Two thirds of those sales were made on trips abroad, particularly in Europe^[1]while the remaining third in Mainland China.

Today, Chinese travelers are hungry for newness: looking to reconnect — with destinations, retailers, and brands. The data from the report offers a solid sense of optimism, revealing travel amongst Chinese luxury travelers is high with 92% of those surveyed planning an international trip in 2023.

Furthermore, 90% of shoppers plan to shop as much or more as pre-Covid in their next overseas trip^[2]. This indicates a significant opportunity for luxury brands to capitalize on the pent-up demand for shopping overseas as Chinese shoppers likely will make up for the lost time.

From Insights to Actions: The New Affluent Shoppers

The Pandemic has led to profound behavioral changes. China’s retail and digital landscapes have continued to evolve and transform into a truly unique and innovative ecosystem. For brands, reconnecting with Chinese consumers requires an in-depth understanding of what motivates and engages them.

By combining Global Blue's exclusive data on shopper behavior and insights into travelers' preferences and Gusto Collective's expertise in brand building across the physical and virtual worlds, the report provides brands with clear action steps for growing their businesses with these post-Covid affluent Chinese consumers.

We are delighted to see the return of Chinese shoppers, following a three-year hiatus. Our exclusive data on shopper behavior and extensive network of over 75,000 partners worldwide uniquely positions us at the forefront of this exciting development. Global Blue’s wealth of knowledge and expertise makes us well equipped to assist luxury brands in preparing for the arrival of this important market segment in Continental Europe.

Jacques Stern

CEO, Global Blue

By combining Global Blue's data and insights into travelers' preferences and Gusto Collective's expertise in brand building across the physical and virtual worlds, this report provides brands with a blueprint for growing their businesses with Chinese consumers. The data from the report offers a solid sense of optimism; the appetite for travel and shopping is definitely there. Now it’s up to brands to seize the opportunity!

Chloé Reuter

Founding Partner, Gusto Collective

[1] Loss of Chinese tourists forces Europe’s luxury retailers to rethink | Financial Times (ft.com)

[2] Global Blue data

Download PDF of the Press release

Media Contacts

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

Mia Ji – Marketing Director, Gusto Collective Shanghai
Mail: mia.ji@thisisgusto.com

Investor Relations Contacts

Frances Gibbons – Head of Investor Relations
Mob: +44 (0)7815 034 212
Mail: fgibbons@globalblue.com

ABOUT GUSTO COLLECTIVE, THE LUXURY COVNERSATION

Gusto Collective is Asia's first brandtech group using the latest technology to help brands create content and experiences across the physical and virtual worlds.

We deliver best-in-class storytelling, powered by data and technology.

Since 2010, Gusto Collective’s Luxury Specialism has been an industry leader in China and Asia. With 140 full time consultants in Shanghai, the company offers consulting, creative, marketing, and digital tech solutions for luxury brands across fashion, retail, beauty, hospitality and more.

With the reopening of the Chinese border from January 2023, Gusto Collective has launched China Firsthand: a service to support international brands in converting their engagement with Chinese consumers into measurable results. Through custom workshops, training, and study missions, we help global businesses cut through the noise to better understand China's political, social, and cultural nuances.

ABOUT GLOBAL BLUE

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 enhance their experience.

Global Blue offers innovative solutions in three different fields:

Tax Free Shopping: Helping retailers at over 300,000 points of sale to efficiently manage 35 million Tax Free Shopping transactions a year, thanks to its fully integrated in-house technology platform. Meanwhile, its industry-leading digital Tax Free shopper solutions create a better, more seamless customer experience.
Payment services: Providing a full suite of foreign exchange and Payments technology solutions that allow acquirers, hotels, and retailers to offer value-added services and improve the customer experience during 31 million payment transactions a year at 130,000 points of interaction.
Complementary RetailTech: Offering new technology solutions to retailers, including digital receipts and eCommerce returns, that can be easily integrated with their core systems and allow them to optimize and digitalize their processes throughout the omni-channel customer journey, both in-store and online.

In addition, our data and advisory services offer a strategic advisory to help retailers identify opportunities for growth, while our shopper experience and engagement solutions provide data-driven solutions to increase footfall, convert footfall to revenue and enhance performance.

For more information, visit https://www.globalblue.com/about-us

Global Blue Monthly Speaker Notes Data, January 2023

Source: Global Blue

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