UK retailers have a golden opportunity, and can expect £600m to flood the high street during Chinese Golden Week 2015, according to payment services provider Sage Pay. It is believed that this year will see an 18% increase in spending, consistent in terms of the growth of spending over Golden Week for the previous two years. This is all in spite of China‘s reportedly gloomy economic climate.
Originally a public holiday intended to increase domestic spend in China, Golden Week is now a common time for Chinese residents to travel overseas, and London is an increasingly popular choice of destination. Luxury goods, high-end fashion and “quintessentially British” merchandise tend to attract the most shoppers during Golden Week, making Chinese tourists some of the biggest spenders with UK businesses.
“Golden Week brings a huge amount of income to London-based retailers, but it‘s not just the big enterprises who can benefit,” said Sean Wilson, acting Managing Director of Sage Pay. “Small businesses ought to ready themselves for the arrival of Chinese tourists too. This is a chance for SMEs to compete with the big guys and there‘s no reason why they can‘t benefit from Golden Week too.”
This year Golden Week falls on 1 October. Travel booking site Ctrip has said that there will be a 150% increase in Chinese consumers looking to travel overseas compared to 2014.
