Shoppers from the United States and Russia will help boost the British economy with their shopping habits this Christmas, new research has predicted, according to the Retail Gazette.
In the run-up to Christmas, tourism shopping tax-refund company Global Blue forecast a 14 percent increase in tax-free transactions from U.S. shoppers and a seven percent increase from their Russian counterparts.
Since the devaluation of the British Pound, the U.S. Dollar has strengthened, and American spend has been driven by income tax reductions, which have given them more disposable income.
In contrast, Chinese transactions are forecast to drop by seven percent over the “golden quarter”.
Although Chinese shoppers currently account for 28 percent of the tax-free spend in Europe, compared to the U.S. and Russia’s eight percent and seven percent respectively, Chinese consumer confidence and change in consumer expectations is limiting the tax-free spend growth in Europe
