In the first half of this year, Shanghai received 5.3149 million overseas tourists, a year-on-year increase of 27.82%. Among them, Jing'an District, the core area of Shanghai's international consumption center, accounted for nearly half of the city's tax-refund sales. As of the end of July, Jing'an District had over 800 registered tax-refund stores, establishing a regional service network of "10 citywide refund points + 3 centralized refund points + N individual store refund points" for immediate refunds upon purchase; over 90,000 tax-refund applications were issued, a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times; and tax-refund sales exceeded 1.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45%.

Since the beginning of this year, with the continued expansion of visa-free policies and the implementation of the 2.0 version of tax refunds for departing tourists, the popularity of inbound consumption has continued to rise. Shanghai's "Action Plan for Optimizing the Consumption Environment for Tax Refunds for Departing Tourists in Shanghai (2025-2027)" proposes to make Shanghai a benchmark city for tax refunds, characterized by a reasonable layout of tax refund outlets, a wide variety of goods, and attentive customer service, providing a satisfactory overall experience of "buying, verifying, and refunding." From high-end department stores to supermarkets, from luxury goods to everyday consumer goods, Shanghai's tax refund service network is extending to a wider range of consumption scenarios.

High-end shopping districts continue to drive growth. Lu Mei, a staff member of the Goods and Labor Tax Section of the Jing'an District Tax Bureau, explained that luxury clothing, watches, bags, and jewelry from top international brands remain the main drivers of consumption in Jing'an District. Taking HKRI Taikoo Hui as an example, the number of transactions with immediate tax refunds within the mall in the second half of 2025 increased by approximately 700% compared to the first half of the year, with the total consumption amount increasing by nearly 400% year-on-year. Currently, HKRI Taikoo Hui has nearly 50 tax-refund shops, almost 90% of which are international brands, covering multiple business formats such as watches, leather goods, and fragrances.

In June 2025, the world's only Louis Vuitton "Louis" ship opened at HKRI Taikoo Hui. This ship-shaped building integrates Louis Vuitton stores, restaurants, and the "Extraordinary Journey" brand exhibition. In its opening week, it doubled foot traffic at HKRI Taikoo Hui, becoming a major gateway for inbound tourism in Jing'an District. In its first year, it attracted tourists from 106 countries and regions who completed their departure tax refunds, contributing to a 43.1% year-on-year increase in overseas visitors to the Nanjing West Road commercial district and a 61% year-on-year increase in total spending in the surrounding area.

As one of the first tax refund points in the city, Zhangyuan has provided instant tax refund services to over 60 stores across the city since its launch. In 2025, Zhangyuan hosted the global launch of CELINE, providing the brand with a "green channel" for tax refunds through a joint venture model, enabling "tax refunds upon debut." After the first VIP event, tax refunds accounted for 15% of daily sales. Hang Lung Plaza implemented the city's first self-service terminal instant tax refund service, completing the iteration from "manual processing" to "intelligent instant processing," reducing the average tax refund time by more than 60%.

Beyond luxury shopping districts, street-level businesses are also unlocking the potential of inbound tourism spending. Yongyuan Road, located in Jing'an District, is a street approximately 500 meters long. After a complete renovation adopting the approach of "removing walls, eliminating gates, and designing each shop individually," it has become an open-air street. This low-density streetscape aligns with foreign tourists' expectations of a leisurely stroll through the sycamore-lined streets. Data shows that the proportion of foreign spending on Yongyuan Road has increased from 20% to over 35%, the rate of foreign credit card transactions exceeds 40%, and the street's retail sales have increased by approximately 30% year-on-year.

On Yongyuan Road, local trendy brands are more popular with overseas tourists. PANE, a footwear brand often referred to as a "Shanghai specialty," sees approximately 30% of its customers and 35% of its sales coming from overseas at its Yongyuan Road store. These overseas consumers are primarily from Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. The adjacent SMFK flagship store on Yongyuan Road, with its gray metallic décor, has become a popular spot for trend enthusiasts, frequently visited by foreign bloggers who film videos and post them on overseas platforms.

Domestic product consumption also showed strong performance. According to reports, UR, a domestic fast-moving consumer goods brand newly registered in September 2025, ranked fourth in the Jing'an District in terms of order volume as of July 31; Jingdezhen art porcelain stores achieved sales of over 27 million yuan, ranking among the top.

As the visa-free policy expands its coverage, tax refund services are gradually being integrated into community life. RT-Mart Pingxingguan Store was the first supermarket in the city to offer instant tax refunds for departing tourists. With its high cost-performance ratio, it has become a popular destination for South Korean tourists, with instant tax refund orders ranking first in Jing'an District, accounting for nearly 40%. Domestic brands such as White Rabbit milk tea and Three Squirrels have become best-selling items.

To cater to the spending habits of South Korean tourists, the store features bilingual (Chinese and Korean) signage for layout and product information, and plays bilingual guides on a loop. A dedicated checkout lane for South Korean tourists has been opened, supporting common payment methods such as Kakao Pay and UnionPay, with exclusive discounts offered for these payment channels. Pan Chengxin, customer service manager of RT-Mart Pingxingguan store, explained that the next step is to partner with the Bank of China to introduce unmanned self-service tax refund machines to facilitate tax refunds for foreign tourists. (Source: Economic Daily)