Your guide to the baffling world of duty-free shopping
Duty-free stores are known for indulgences: alcohol and cigarettes, pricey face serums and chocolate bars that can feed a family of six. But these uncertain times of tariffs could cast the global retail outlets in a new light. No longer just an airport diversion, could they help keep your bathroom vanity, armoire and snack drawer well-stocked?
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'People associate them with perfumes, chocolates and alcohol, but there are many other things available in duty free that could be a good deal,' said Becky Blaine, a travel editor with The Points Guy, which in 2019 compared the prices of 13 items in 50 duty-free shops.
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The first airport duty-free store was a 'gimmick,' said Scott Laird, a travel writer who has covered duty-free shopping. An Irish visionary named Brendan O'Regan hatched an idea to sell tax-free items to passengers stuck at Shannon Airport while their transatlantic planes refuelled. The kiosk, which opened in 1947, sold Irish whiskey and other local souvenirs.
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'They got an exception from the Irish authorities on local taxes on various products,' Laird said. 'So they were able to sell more by offering those products cheaper because they didn't have the local taxes. And that has taken off.'
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Duty-free retail is now a global juggernaut, worth $86 billion in 2019, according to the most recent publicly available data from the Duty Free World Council, an industry advocacy group. Airport stores around the world, from Detroit to Dubai, stock their shelves with international brands, plus a sprinkling of homegrown companies.
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Despite their universality, they can still be confusing, especially when you start doing the math. So here's a smart shopper's guide to duty-free stores.
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What is duty-free shopping?
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Duty-free shops carry products that are exempt from taxes and duties, including local, state and value-added taxes (VAT) and import duties. What you see is what you pay.
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The stores typically occupy 'stateless' places, such as border areas, airport terminals (post-security) and cruise ships; onboard shops are generally tax- and duty-free in international waters and closed while in port. Travellers can also find a few stand-alone stores, such as the sprawling complex in China's Hainan province.
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'When you're leaving the country, you're in this weird nontaxable area,' Laird said.
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As part of the arrangement, travellers avoid paying taxes on goods in exchange for not consuming them on-site. To ensure the shopper is departing the country, they will have to present a boarding pass and passport at checkout. Their purchases will be sealed and delivered to the boarding gate, reducing any temptation to crack open that bottle of Fireball or Tom Ford fragrance.
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Travellers with a layover in the same country as their departure — such as a flight from New York to Los Angeles to Tokyo — can only shop at the last airport before they exit the country. Laird also warns of some 'extraordinary situations.'
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