Inside US retailers’ big mobile play for Chinese tourists
More struggling US store operators are turning to Alipay and WeChat Pay to lure Chinese tourists who spent US$33b in America last year
Struggling US retailers are embracing mobile technology to help them open the wallets of visiting Chinese travellers, a market that reached US$33 billion last year.
As traffic and revenue at traditional US bricks-and-mortar stores slide amid consumers' flight to online shopping sites, retailers are moving deeper into mobile payments and mobile apps to increase sales to the world's most prodigious group of spenders.
From US vitamins and supplements retailer GNC Holdings to casino operator Caesar’s Entertainment, the aim is to get a piece of the tens of billions of dollars spent by Chinese tourists in the US who often buy things simply by tapping a QR code on their phones.
“Chinese travellers love to shop when they are abroad,” said Souheil Badran, president of Alipay of the Americas.
“It is typical of Chinese tourists to travel and shop with a specific brand or item in mind. But they often face language and payment barriers.
“Using mobile wallets to make purchases in their own currency” gets Chinese consumers past this obstacle, Badran said.
