Chinese shoppers buy one third of global tax-free goods in 2014

The year 2014 saw continued growth of tax-free shopping around the world, with shoppers from the Chinese mainland being the biggest spending group, it was reported in Geneva Wednesday.

Statistics from Global Blue, a tourism shopping tax refund service provider, showed that compared to 2013, shoppers from the Chinese mainland spent 18 percent more on tax-free shopping in 2014 and accounted for nearly one third of the global total.

Shoppers from the Chinese mainland were the biggest spending group for the seventh consecutive year, spending an average 736 euros (831.60 US dollars) per transaction, said David Baxby, chief executive officer of Global Blue.

The top five globe shoppers came from the Chinese mainland, Russia, the United States, Indonesia and Japan.

Paris remained the most popular shopping city and ranked five times as the preferred city, followed by London, Singapore, Milan and Rome.

Almost 50 percent of purchases were related to fashion and clothing, by far the largest category globally, followed by watches and jewelry at 17 percent, said Global Blue.