Chinese Tourists Propel Alipay’s Overseas Growth during the 2019 Lunar New Year

Alipay today announces additional statistics that reveal more about the overseas spending and mobile payment behavior of Chinese consumers during the 2019 Lunar New Year period.

The data has been drawn from the 54 markets where Alipay is accepted. Combined with the preliminary findings released on Feb 11, the statistics provide a unique way to measure the pulse of China’s vibrant consumer and tourism markets.

Key findings between February 4- 10 reveal:

• Both transaction values and volumes experienced robust growth
• Offline in-store transaction value surged 2.2 times year-on-year
• Europe dominates the top 10 countries in terms of average spend
• Top five countries that saw the highest growth on average spend were: Denmark (22.7 times), Spain (7.1 times), The Philippines (5 times), Belgium (4.7 times) and Switzerland (3.4 times)
• Asian claims nine out of top 10 countries by transaction volumes with the exception of Canada, which climbed to tenth spot due to increased adoption by local merchants and large retailers
• In terms of product and outlet categories, Chinese tourists shopped more frequently in department stores and luxury shops in Europe, while those who travelled to Asian countries favored cosmeceutical shops and convenience stores

In addition, the preliminary findings released on Feb 11 show:

• Average consumption growth through Alipay by travelers from third-and-fourth-tier cities in China outpaced those travelers from the top-tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
• Middle-aged travelers, which are categorized into two groups - those who were born between 1960 – 1969 and then those born between 1970-1979, were the main driving force in outbound tourism and overseas consumption

The statistics also reinforce the findings from the report jointly released by Nielsen and Alipay last month. Titled 2018 Trends for Mobile Payment in Chinese Outbound Tourism, the report finds that Chinese tourists paid for 32% of transactions using mobile payment, overtaking cash for the first time, and that nearly 60% of merchants surveyed experienced growth in both foot traffic and sales after adopting Alipay.

About Alipay
Operated by Ant Financial Services Group, Alipay is the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform. Launched in 2004, Alipay currently works with over 200 domestic financial institution partners. Over the years, Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler. Users can hail a taxi, book a hotel, buy movie tickets, pay utility bills, make appointments with doctors, or purchase wealth management products directly from within the app. In addition to online payments, Alipay is expanding to in-store offline payments both inside and outside of China. Alipay’s in-store payment service covers 54 countries and regions across the world, and tax reimbursement via Alipay is supported in 35 countries and regions. Alipay works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites. Alipay currently supports 27 currencies.

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Contact information

Media Enquiries:
Xinyun Yang
International Communications
Ant Financial Services Group
Tel: +86 138 1689 6301