A recent study by Globe Shopper City Index revealed that the favorite city for shopping among tourists is London. However, Madrid and Barcelona share their leadership in other categories as well.
The Globe Shopper Index enables both the comparison of 33 European and 25 Asia Pacific cities, according to their shopping advantages and disadvantages, as well as a dynamic ranking of criteria according to personal user preferences. The Globe Shopper Index was designed and created by the Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Global Blue.
Madrid and Barcelona reached top 10 positions in several of the categories. Madrid, for example, has better valuation than Barcelona when it comes to shops. The presence of international brands and huge volume of shops play an important role here.
The county city, Barcelona, is the leader when it comes to hotels and public transport. In this category, the city reached the third best position in Europe and was only beaten by London and Copenhagen. Madrid has the fifth place with 66.4 points of 100 compared to the supremacy of other European capitals such as Paris.
With respect to the shops, the Spanish capital has a total of 69.3 points of 100 reaching third position, and it was beaten only by London and Paris, with 80.6 and 74.7 points respectively. Meanwhile, Barcelona is placed in the sixth position with 61.2 points of 100, beating Milan, a fashion capital.
Regarding prices, a category in which the study includes the tourist’s expenses like food, stay in hotels, and shopping, the Catalane capital has the ninth position, and is in a tie with Rome which has 70.9 points. Meanwhile, Madrid has the 12th position with 69.3 and is a more expensive option when it comes to shopping in Spain.
When it comes to languages spoken in the shops, schedules, or security, the study reveals that Barcelona has the sixth position with 53.9 points, and the capital gets the 11th position with only 53.9 points, behind big cities like Lisboan and Sofia.
Also, the culture of Barcelona places the city in the top five of the category, specifically in the 4th place with 78.7 points, just behind cities like Paris, Rome, and Berlin. Madrid has the sixth place, behind London, with 76.7 points.
The impact in the area of tourism shopping indicates that brands like Zara, Mango, Desigual, Camper, and Custo are the favorites of the tourists. The shopping zones highlighted in Barcelona are, according to the study, Las Ramblas, La Plaza de Cataluña, and El Paseo de Gracia o La Avenida Diagonal.
On the other hand, Madrid holds the most luxurious brands in Salamanca’s neighborhood, along with other zones like Chueca and the Mercado Fuerrecarral, according to the analysis of 33 European cities of Globe Shopper Index.
TOP 5 Shopping Destinations in Europe
City Score
London 67/100
Madrid 67/100
Barcelona 67/100
Paris 66/100
Rome 63/100
TOP 5 Shopping Destinations in Asia Pacific
City Score
Hong Kong 69/100
Kuala Lumpur 65/100
Shanghai 63/100
Beijing 61/100
Singapore 60/100
