Europe is seeing a boost in tax free shopping

Europe is seeing a boost in tax free shopping with a 726 percent jump in May compared to 2021.

As European borders re-opened and travel without quarantine is possible, tax free shopping is rising, despite being 37 percent below 2019 levels.

The figures were released in an intelligence report by Planet, a payment solutions company that offers integrated services including VAT refunds. According to their data May consumer spending recorded the highest recovery rate since the beginning of the crisis.

Looking at the comparison of individual countries with the pre-pandemic period, sales in France recorded a drop of 19 percent compared to May 2019. Spain -32 percent, Italy -45 percent and Germany -70 percent. Portugal saw a 5 percent increase. The UK and US saw the highest tax free sales, surpassing 2019 levels by 36 percent.

At the European level, US spending accounted for 23.2 percent of total sales, followed by British traverls making up 5.1 percent of total sales. France is the leading destination with 42 percent of the expenditure coming from visiting tourists, followed by Italy and Spain, at 19 percent and 12 percent respectively.

Article source: Planet Payment, Pambianco News