Middle Eastern spend up 50% year-on-year in the UK during October
A new report has revealed that well-heeled visitors to the UK from Middle Eastern countries increased their spending in October by 50% compared to the same month last year.
The report by international shopping experts Global Blue also showed that Middle Eastern visitors accounted for the majority of non-EU spend in the month.
The second Eid festival, which ran from 26 to 28 October, was a crucial factor in the spending increase as many Middle Eastern nationalities chose to holiday and shop abroad during the period.
Global Blue said its data showed that Middle Eastern visitors from the countries of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, Egypt consistently had the highest average monthly spend of all non-EU countries’ spend based on data from January-October 2012. Shoppers from the Middle East were shown to favour luxury shops in London such as Bond Street jewellers and West End designer outlets and showed little interest in buying high street goods or shopping for discounted items in the sales.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Jace Tyrell, director at New West End Company, said: “Middle Eastern spend in the district is worth millions to our retailers, favouring luxury brands such as Cartier and Chanel —in the pre-Ramadan rush this year there was approximately £130 million spent by Middle Eastern visitors, and this grows every year. We expect sales in October to continue this growth trend.”
Richard Brown, vice president of Global Blue UK, added: “These October spend results follow the 60% year on year boost of pre-Ramadan sales from Middle Eastern shoppers in July, and highlight these important dates for Middle Eastern travel and spend in the UK. In a tough domestic retail climate, retailers welcome the spending power of the Middle East, who can spend in excess of £1 million on individual items.”
