Record for foreigners in UK shopping bonanza
LAST month was the busiest on record for international shoppers hitting UK stores, a new survey showed today.
Sales were up 18 per cent with shoppers from China, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia leading the boom. The hike came despite Middle Eastern shoppers heading home for religious festival Ramadan during the month. The growth in Chinese shoppers was 73 per cent. They snapped up luxury items, particularly watches. Meanwhile Thai shoppers were up 71 per cent, Russians 45 per cent and Malaysians 44 per cent.
Nigel Dasler, vice president of financial service company Global Blue which carried out the research, said: “We have seen a concentration and increase in spend from the Middle East market.”