Like-for-like recovery of global sales across the duty-free shopping sector surged in December, according to data from Global Blue – with Asia leading the rebound.

Sales growth reached 130 per cent in December versus 125 per cent in October/November and 123 per cent in the third quarter, Global Blue reported.

Asia Pacific led the way with a steady recovery rate of 151 per cent, compared to 149 per cent in October/November and 134 per cent in Q3.

When excluding Mainland Chinese shoppers, the recovery would have reached 198 per cent in December.

Regarding origin markets, residents from Hong Kong and Taiwan and North East Asia continue to drive the strong recovery in Asia Pacific. Hong Kong and Taiwan sustained a significantly high recovery of 512 per cent, followed by North East Asia 336 per cent.

In terms of destination markets, Japan ranks first with a recovery rate of 231 per cent due to the attraction of the weakened Japanese Yen, followed by South Korea at 106 per cent.

In Continental Europe, the recovery reached 121 per cent in December versus 117 per cent in October/November and 119 per cent in Q3, despite the events in Palestine.

The worldwide sales in-store like-for-like recovery of Mainland Chinese shoppers reached 82 per cent compared to 77 per cent in October/November and 70 per cent in Q3.

Further reading: Heinemann introduces revamped KL International Airport duty-free store