Alipay partners with The Bicester Village Shopping Collection

Chinese tourists can now use the Alipay mobile wallet app to make purchases in almost 160 boutiques from high-profile brands across all nine destinations in The Bicester Village Shopping Collection in Europe, thanks to a partnership between Alipay and The Bicester Village Shopping Collection.

The cashless mobile payment will be accepted in 300 boutiques by June.

Alipay’s mobile wallet utilises geo-location technology and push notifications, allowing guests to find their favourite boutiques, discover tailored promotions and seek assistance with purchase decisions. It also allows Alipay users to receive preferential foreign exchange rates.

The partnership caters to the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting Europe every year. Recent figures from Visit Britain show that more than 250,000 Chinese tourists visited the UK in 2016, spending more than £500 million*, while French Tourism Bureau Atout France reports that almost two million Chinese tourists visited the country in 2017.

“Alipay is building a platform that enables Chinese consumers to seamlessly travel internationally, and our marketing partnership with The Bicester Village Shopping Collection is a huge step towards providing a holistic retail experience across Europe. Chinese visitors will be able to use their Alipay wallet app for their entire experience at the Villages, right through from their travel to shopping and dining on-site,” said Pamela Hsieh, Head of Marketing, EMEA at Alipay.

“The marketing partnership will also empower the retailers found at each of the Villages within The Bicester Village Shopping Collection, who will find it easier to engage with the growing number of high-spending Chinese tourists visiting Europe, by offering them the retail and payment experience they are used to at home,” Pamela Hsieh continued.

“We are continuously looking for new ways to deliver an outstanding guest experience across The Bicester Village Shopping Collection,” said Marcelo Molinari, Global Tourism Director. “We know that an increasing number of our Chinese guests prefer to use their smartphones to make payments and facilitate their shopping experience, which is why we are delighted to be partnering with Alipay and embracing the future of retail.”

Alipay is available for Ecommerce payments and at bricks-and-mortar shops in 18 European countries, while its tax-refund service is supported at airports in 23 European countries.

* Details of Chinese tourists visiting the UK from Visit Britain
** Details of Chinese tourists’ spending habits from a recent Alipay/Nielsen report (2018)

Related reading