Salone del Mobile di Milano effect on tax free shopping. According to the Global Blue observatory, which highlights how compared to the same week in June 2019, tax free shopping has improved its performance. On the other hand, comparing the two editions of the Salone, the recovery rate in 2022 compared to that of April 2019 is 59%. Finally, the average receipt grows by 6%, this year jumped to 1,278 euros. The numbers underline the recovery of the sector despite the continuing absence of Chinese and Russians. In the new mix of nationalities, the absolute protagonists of tax free spending under the Duomo were the Americans, whose recovery was more than double compared to the values of the 2019 Salone: even triple compared to the same week in June three years ago. The average US receipt set at 1,609 euros marked a variation of + 40% when compared with the pre-Covid edition.
However, the latter was not the highest value, which instead belongs to the Arabs, for an average cost of 1,748 euros (+ 33% compared to the 2019 Salone). The performance of tax free spending by tourists from the Gulf countries – as well as that of those coming from Southeast Asia – improves compared to the pre-pandemic. Among the new nationalities, two stand out more than others, albeit still small and marginal. On the one hand, this is the Indian one, with a recovery rate of 163% compared to the 2019 edition, for an average receipt of 1,102 euros (+ 42%). On the other hand, the Brazilian one, whose recovery rate stood at 159%, which rises to 454% when compared with the same week in June. Leading the recovery among the various product categories is Fashion & Clothing, with a tax free recovery rate of 68% compared to the 2019 Show and an average receipt of 1,265 euros (+ 16%). The Watches & Jewelery segment is slower, the recovery rate of which stops at 34%, even though it has a much higher average receipt: € 4,389.
Finally, a focus also on the activities of the Global Blue VIP Lounge in via Sant’Andrea, in the Milanese fashion district. Here, when compared the week of the 2022 Salone with the same week in June 2019, there is an increase in the average number of admissions (131 vs 129), for a receipt higher than that made in the city.