London stores can smile as Chinese visitors increase their Lunar New Year spend

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 31, 2017

The results are in and they look good. Sales to Chinese shoppers in London’s West End were up 153.8% year-on-year for the week starting January 23.

That is a 17.2% week-on-week increase showing that Chinese spend increased as the Lunar New Year celebrations proceeded.

And according to Premier tax Free, the average transaction value was also up 46.6% year-on-year, helped by the weak pound, while total transactions were up an impressive 73.1% year-on-year.

This suggested that not only were there many more Chinese shoppers in the area but that they were also buying more per person.
 
Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company said: “The West End’s shopping streets are popular year-round with Chinese visitors to London looking for retail therapy. However, we traditionally see a surge in Chinese spend over the New Year celebratory period, and this year did not disappoint.

 “We witnessed a staggering surge in Chinese sales, suggesting a greater number of Chinese shoppers on the streets.”