Travel restrictions have thrown a speed bump in the path of the fast growing duty-free sector, with both retailers and shoppers losing out.
For China it has been an opportunity to grow domestic retail. The nation’s consumers have become the driving force for duty-free retail in all key international markets.
Increasingly China is trying to encourage more of those purchases to be made at home – especially now in order to boost the nation’s retail sector.
To this end, China has been expanding duty-free shopping opportunities for Chinese consumers within China.
Major players including JD Worldwide and Baiian Group moved fast to seize this new opportunity to grow sales, applying for license to operate duty-free retail stores. Department store giant, Wangfujing Group, has recently received a license for the same.
From July 1, Hainan increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30000 yuan (USD 4300) to 100000 yuan (USD 14300) per person each year.
Guangzhou is now looking to add duty-free to its retail offering.