Women and young visitors most likely to go shopping while visiting the UK in 2014. Visitors from the Gulf spend the most overall during their visit. US visitors overtook Germany in volume of shopping visits.
Shopping is one of the most popular activities for international visitors to the UK, with 64% of visits in 2014 involving shopping; and an estimated £5.5bn being spent on retail therapy during the year, according to new research from VisitBritain, the national tourism agency.
Their new report, Types of shops visited by overseas visitors, reveals how lucrative shopping by overseas visitors is for the UK economy with around 22 million international visitors in 2014 indulging in retail therapy.
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy & Communications, VisitBritain said: “Retail therapy is one of the great relaxing pursuits for international holiday visitors to the UK – with 80% going shopping. And, average spend for people who come to the UK primarily to shop is £346 a night, a huge lift on the average spend of £83. Inbound tourism is Britain’s third biggest service export and supports sectors such as retail as well as hotels and attractions.”
International visitors departing the UK were asked whether they had visited four different types of shops:
- Shopping centres/malls, chain stores or ‘High Street’ (High Street);
- Outlet villages, department stores or luxury goods stores (Luxury);
- Boutiques or market stalls selling specialty/craft goods (Boutique);
- Gift or souvenir shops (Gift).
Women are most likely to go shopping during their visit; three quarters of women (77%) shopped compared to just over half of men (54%).
In fact, shopping on London’s Oxford Street is the second most appealing activity to potential female visitors to the UK!
Estimated spend on shopping by overseas visitors (£m)
Around 80% more was spent by visitors who shopped, spending an average of £739 during their trip, compared to £414 spent by visitors who didn’t.
Half of visits surveyed included a trip to a High Street store, with a peak amongst women at 61%, again markedly higher than the 42% of men who chose these types of stores. While women aged 45-54 are especially more likely (60%) than men (37%) in the same age group to have exercised some retail therapy on the High Street.
Young visitors are the most likely to go shopping during their visit, with 85% under 16 and 77% of 16-24 year olds visiting High Street stores, Gift and Boutique shops.
When we look at specific markets it is the French who visit shops the most, with the USA, third, overtaking Germany.
Propensity to purchase items (%)
| Items purchased | % |
|---|---|
| Clothes or shoes | 40.7% |
| Personal accessories | 9.5% |
| Bags, purses | 9.2% |
| Cosmetics or toiletries | 12.3% |
| Books or stationery | 12.5% |
| Games, toys or gifts for children | 9.3% |
| Food or drink | 24.0% |
| CDs, DVDs, computer games | 5.3% |
| Electrical or electronic items | 2.8% |
| Items for your home | 3.0% |
| Other holiday souvenir | 15.6% |
| None of these | 37.7% |
Fifty-five per cent of visitors from Gulf countries, which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE, seek out Luxury stores – Gulf countries’ visitors tend to spend more during their visit, too; amongst the highest spenders whilst in the UK, typically they spend £2,372 each.
Visiting a Luxury store is also reflected in high-spend across Asian markets – over 40% of visitors from Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore chose to shop in these stores, with 37% of Chinese visitors heading for Luxury stores.
Jace Tyrrell, Deputy CEO, New West End Company said: “International visitors are increasingly important for London’s West End. The Middle East and China remain the top spending nations in the West End, with the latter spending over £1,400 on average, but the appeal of shopping for designer fashion and accessories in London has also rippled out across South East Asia and we saw huge growth from Thailand and Malaysia last year. Retailers across London’s West End are pulling out all the stops to ensure their offering caters to the tastes of these growing and very important international markets, from services including tax free shopping facilities, VIP services and multilingual staff.”
Types of items that inbound visitors to Britain purchased during 2013-Published July 2014
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
