London retailers ready to cash in on Chinese New Year ‘gold rush’

Happy Chinese New Year from all at My Fashion Connect Global.
Photo: Lucia Carpio

As Chinese New Year kicks off on 28th January this year, ushering in the Year of the Rooster, it also signals the start of "Golden Week" - a key calendar date now for UK retailers as they are doing all they can to attract Chinese shoppers, including offering multiple shipping options at reasonable rates, and even displayng prices in Chinese yuan.

Chinese tourists are taking advantage of the weak Sterling to travel and go shopping in the UK, and are expectecd to spend the tune of £11m in London during this year’s “Golden Week”.  
Department stores and luxury retailers are expected to be the biggest winners as reported by Drapers trade publication.

According to payment firm Worldpay, Chinese tourists spending went up 24% in December compared to the same month in 2015.  During the Golden Week, Worldpay says Chinese shoppers are expected to spend 40% more on credit cards than usual during the holiday, and popular shopping destinations in the capital are expected to reap the benefits from the influx of free-spending tourists.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, also reportedly said sales to Chinese shoppers were up 121% on 2016 in the week prior to the main event. To put this into perspective, domestic and European spend in the same period were up by just 10.2% and 12.6% respectively.

“Although the holiday was traditionally used for family get-togethers, more and more Chinese citizens are opting to use the break as an opportunity for travel.”