London leads the Economist Intelligence Unit’s new index of European shopping destinations, edging out Madrid, Barcelona and Paris for the top spot. The UK capital’s best draws for shoppers are the variety of goods on offer and the array of world-famous shopping districts such as Oxford Street and Covent Garden. The study, The Globe Shopper City Index – Europe, sponsored by Global Blue, ranks 33 European cities on a broad range of criteria including the quality and diversity of shops, affordability, the price and convenience of hotels and transport, the number of cultural attractions, and the weather.
Madrid and Barcelona, perhaps not usually associated with the top tier of European shopping locations, tie for second in the Index. The two Spanish cities perform well across most criteria, with particular strengths being good cuisine, convenient transport and affordable prices for brand names. Paris and Rome round out the top five cities, with both marked highly for their ambience and weather.
Nearly one-half (44%) of global receipts from international tourism are spent in Europe, according to the World Trade Organization. Meanwhile, a 2010 study of tourists’ shopping habits in the International Journal of Tourism Research found that Europe is seen as the world’s leading destination for luxury shopping, especially among those who are most interested in shopping while on holiday.
“Europe is facing a long road to economic recovery but one of the region’s clear strengths is its attractions for international shoppers,” says Robin Bew, global editorial director at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “The Globe Shopper City Index assesses cities across Europe in terms of their attractiveness as shopping destinations, and gives consumers the tools to decide which of the 33 locations is most likely to fulfil their ideal shopping holiday.”
Europe's shopping hubs are not short of drawbacks, however. Number one London for example is marked down for its high prices. Inconvenient opening hours too are a common weakness among Index cities. In only five Index cities are shops open on average 10 hours per day or longer. In two cities, Brussels and Stockholm, shops are open less than eight hours per day.
The Globe Shopper City Index – Europe is unique among shopping destination rankings for the comprehensive set of criteria it covers, the strength of its methodology and its interactive features, which includes a web site, where visitors can choose shopping destinations according to their specific shopper profiles (http://www.globeshopperindex.eiu.com)
Here are the Index highlights:
- The spice of life: London tops the Index for its variety of goods and choice of locations, but the price-conscious should look elsewhere for bargains. London’s most obvious attraction in the Index is the sheer variety of locations and goods available to the international shopper. The city earns its best category score, 80.6 points (out of a total of 100), for shops, nearly six points ahead of second-placed Paris in this category.
- The Spanish advantage: Madrid and Barcelona tie for second place with consistently strong performances across all categories. They both possess strong and extensive attractions for the shopper, including good cuisine, convenience, and low prices for brand names.
- A menu of attractions: Most Index cities score strongly in at least one area, meaning that shoppers can choose their preferred destination from among many options. The Economist Intelligence Unit weighted all categories equally to generate the topline results, but shoppers may “weight” certain parts of the experience more highly than others depending on their priorities.
- Convenient truth: Longer opening hours and more discounts could be a way for cities to set themselves apart. It is worth remembering, however, that restricted opening hours and difficulty in finding a bargain, while making shopping itself less convenient, may actually increase the fun for some types of shoppers.
- Due east for value: Bargain trips are off the beaten track. The Index shows that the best-performing cities on overall spend are in the east and south-east, in particular Sofia, Bratislava, Bucharest, Kiev and Belgrade. This will not suit everyone’s tastes, but it could be just what those who gain pleasure from exploring and finding deals are looking for.
The Globe Shopper City Index – Europe: Assessing 33 European destinations on convenience, availability and price
is available free of charge at:
http://www.businessresearch.eiu.com/globe-shopper-city-index-europe.html
Press enquiries:
Joanne McKenna, Press Liaison, +44 20 7576 8188; joannemckenna@eiu.com
About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. It provides accurate and impartial intelligence for companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organisations around the globe, inspiring business leaders to act with confidence since 1946. EIU products include its flagship Country Reports service, providing political and economic analysis for 195 countries, and a portfolio of subscription-based data and forecasting services. The company also undertakes bespoke research and analysis projects on individual markets and business sectors. More information is available at www.eiu.com or follow us on www.twitter.com/theeiu
The EIU is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in more than 40 cities and a network of some 650 country experts and analysts worldwide. It operates independently as the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs.
