Indian shopping in Italy grows: luxury spending at +37% in 2023
Although still a niche, Indian tourists are growing steadily and spending more and more: they prefer clothes and shopping in Milan, although for travel they prefer the cities of art, Capri, Lake Garda and Chianti
3' min read
3' min read
They are still a niche, but growing steadily, both in terms of attendance and spending: tourists Indians shopping in Italy generated 1.46% of total Tax Free spending in 2023, a percentage almost doubled compared to 0.82% in 2019. The figure emerges from the White Paper "Tourism and luxury shopping: will India be the leading nationality of the future?", edited by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Italy, Sea Milan Airports, Fidenza Village, Global Blue and Lybra Tech, a research study that photographs the profile of Indian tourists in Italy, their purchasing behaviour and stay preferences.
Remaining in the area of Tax Free, in the first quarter of 2024, Indians posted a recovery rate of 223% compared to 2019, a trend also confirmed by the results of Milan Design Week, where Indian tourists contributed 2% of volumes with an average receipt of 889 euros (+5% compared to the previous edition). This figure is up from EUR 590 in 2019, around EUR 770 in both 2022 and 2023 and EUR 801 in the first quarter of 2024.
The study also shows that in 2023, 64% of Indian shoppers were under the age of 44, with Millennials representing the largest segment (46%). Particularly interesting is the steady increase in Gen Z's contribution to tax-free spending from 8% in 2019 to 18% last year, finally reaching 24% in the first quarter of 2024.
Predictably, however, it is the over 45s who record the highest average expenditure per shopper: €2,389 for the 45-59 age bracket and €2,060 for the over 60s (2023 figures), numbers that, according to the research, certify how the Indian tourist is establishing himself as the new protagonist of luxury in Italy. In 2023, 76% of his purchases were for luxury and extra-luxury products, a significant increase compared to 69% in 2019. The average receipt for luxury products grew by 37% (EUR 1,122 in 2023) and that for extra-luxury by 59% (EUR 2,333). Moreover, Indians show a clear preference for fashion and clothing items, which account for 83% of their tax-free spending (13 percentage points above average).
Among the preferred destinations for their tax-free shopping, over 70% of volumes are realised in Milan (39% in 2023, +36% compared to pre-pandemic) and the outlets, which are a real target market, contributing 33% to overall tax-free spending (20 percentage points higher than the average figure). In this sense, the figures for Fidenza Village, part of The Bicester Collection, are significant, where visits increased by 123% compared to 2019, more than half of the shoppers are Millennials (57%) and the average spend increased by 23% compared to 2019.
