(Yicai) Aug. 27 -- Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China’s southern Guangdong province have opened their first downtown duty-free stores, offering customers a more convenient retail experience.

The Guangzhou store that opened yesterday sells both tax-free and taxable products from imported and domestic brands. It is a joint venture between China Duty Free Group, Lingnan Group’s local subsidiaries Guangzhou Grandbuy and Guangzhou Lingnan Group Holdings, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

The duty-free section features international beauty brands, premium liquors, renowned watches and jewelry, electronics, and travel gear. To shop in this section, customers must present a valid identification document and proof of departure for an international destination via plane or cruise within 60 days.

Shenzhen’s duty-free store, which also opened yesterday, covers nearly 3,000 square meters and offers products under the beauty and skincare, watches and jewelry, high-end liquors, domestic boutique brands, and electronics categories. It is a collaboration between CDFG, Shenzhen Duty Free Group, and Shenzhen Industrial Group.

Establishing downtown duty-free stores has become a growing trend. Last September, eight Chinese cities -- Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Xi’an -- received regulatory approval to open one downtown duty-free store.

Moreover, 12 foreign-exchange commodity duty-free stores in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai were greenlit to be repurposed as downtown duty-free stores.

Compared with port, offshore, and transportation-based duty-free stores, downtown duty-free shops offer greater convenience and more flexible shopping hours, insiders said. These stores can stimulate local commercial activity, extend tourist stays, and potentially boost development in surrounding business districts, they added.

However, the shopping experience at these downtown duty-free stores still has room for improvement. In fact, the Guangzhou store only supports product pick-up at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while the one in Shenzhen only offers duty-free goods to travelers departing the city by plane.

Consumers hope for more flexible pick-up options in the future, such as multi-site collection within the city, cross-city pick-up, or even cross-city delivery. 

Editor: Futura Costaglione