Average receipt of 981 euros, a record for tax-free spending

Tax-free spending by non-EU tourists is rising and during the last year the average receipt issued in Italy was close to a thousand euros, stopping at 981 euros, equal to a +19% on the previous year. Strong growth which, thanks to +19%, surpasses the values recorded in 2019. A better figure than the average recorded in the world, two percentage points lower. Among the cities of art, the nerve center of tax free shopping is Milan where a third of spending is concentrated with an average receipt of 1,353 euros, followed by Rome (20%) and Florence (15%). Fashion confirms itself as the favorite product category (76%), with an average receipt of 985 euros (+25%) while for jewelery and watches it reaches 2,797 euros. Among the top spenders there are millennials and young people from generation Z who come from North America and the Gulf area whose purchases reach recovery peaks of over 240%. «In 2023 we observed a gradual recovery of tax free shopping, to the point of exceeding the volumes of 2019: if in January the recovery rate was still at 88%, since March it has remained stably above pre-pandemic levels, with a average receipt growing which reached its peak during the Christmas period. 2023 is therefore preparing to be a new benchmark year for analyzing the sector – reports Tomas Mostany, SVP Strategy & Chief Product Officer of Global Blue -. It should be highlighted that these results were achieved despite the fact that some important nationalities have not yet achieved full recovery. This is particularly evident in the case of the Chinese, who nevertheless represent the third nationality in terms of contribution to spending, becoming first in the weeks of the Chinese New Year 2024 (19%)”.

The best customers of boutiques and jewelers are the High Net Worth individuals who are responsible for 28% of tax free purchases, their spending fluctuates between 20 and 70 thousand euros, despite being only 2% of the total customers. A luxury niche together with Ultra-High net worth individuals. The latter love exclusivity with a shopping spree of watches and jewellery. On average they make 2 trips a year, a quarter come from the United States and have an average wallet of 50 thousand euros. Then there is the segment of the influential, shopping tourists who spend between 3 and 20 thousand euros and are worth 40% of the expenditure while in numerical terms the “aspirational” segment is the largest and involves 90% of customers who have an spending capacity of less than 3 thousand euros. From a demographic point of view, around 60% of shoppers worldwide are made up of Millennials and Generation Z, with the latter recording a recovery in tax-free spending at double the speed of other generations. A trend that is also evident in Italy, where they represent 13% of shoppers, recording a 264% recovery in spending compared to 2019.

So in 2024

The new year began with an important news: the lowering of the minimum spending threshold from 154.95 euros from 1 February to 70.01 euros. A measure that should increase tax free shopping. According to the first evidence developed by Global Blue last month, the number of transactions increased by 39% and this opportunity is seized by the Swiss, South Americans and Turks with an expansion of opportunities for sectors that until now have only marginally benefited from tax free such as , for example, local crafts, supermarkets, perfumery and cosmetics, clothing and sports equipment, as well as fast fashion. Furthermore, the propensity of Americans to organize a trip to Europe in the coming months remains very high and three-quarters want to increase their spending capacity compared to 2019 thanks also to the favorable exchange rate. Furthermore, there are good prospects for the return of Chinese tourists. From this point of view, Italy has already reopened 100% of its visa centers, while the recovery of air capacity will reach 172% in the first quarter of 2024.