EY backs STAMP: the Asian Digital Traveller

For Chinese travellers, if you're not on WeChat, you don't exist

Chinese travellers are back in Europe. After the pandemic pause, the segment that historically led international tourist spending is regaining its mobility. According to EY, it arrives with an average ticket nearly double that of other tourist profiles.

But it arrives changed. It no longer looks only for the big luxury brands it can buy at home. It looks for experiences, local boutique brands, good food and products with a story to tell back home.

That is great news for European retail. The problem is that most retailers are not ready to capture it. Read the full case study on ey.com.

The problem isn't your product: it's that you're invisible

EY puts it this way: the main barrier for European brands is not quality, but their digital non-existence in the eyes of Asian travellers.

Western tourists decide between Google, Instagram or TripAdvisor. Chinese tourists use none of these. Their compass is the super apps: WeChat for search and socialising, Xiaohongshu (RED) for lifestyle and travel, and Dianping for reviews. And they decide before leaving home:

• 79% of Chinese travellers research their purchases before the trip begins.
• 61% admit they are influenced by promotions and content on their native social networks.

A store can sit on the best street in Madrid or Milan and still compete at a clear disadvantage against one that is present on RED or WeChat.

Payment also decides whether they walk in

For Chinese consumers, the payment method is not the end of the process: it is an upfront filter.

• It is a trust signal. Seeing the Alipay or WeChat Pay logos in the window tells them the store is reliable and designed for them.
• It removes friction. These are mobile-first, cashless shoppers. If they can't pay the way they always do, the chance of a purchase drops.
• It is a marketing channel. Alipay and WeChat integrate coupons, geolocated campaigns and brand discovery. Accepting them makes you visible exactly where travellers look for places to shop.

How STAMP solves it: visibility + payments

According to EY, accepting payment is not enough. Brands need to accompany travellers from inspiration in China to after the purchase. EY positions STAMP as the technology bridge connecting European brands with a digital ecosystem of 2 billion users.

Before the trip: get found (Drive-to-Store)

• WeChat miniprograms and official accounts that work like a native website, where users discover the brand, browse products and read reviews in their own language.
• Presence on RED to earn social validation, because travellers trust other users and KOLs more than brand advertising.

In store and after: make them buy and come back

• Alipay+ and WeChat Pay integrated into the retailer's systems, with fast, secure payments.
• Data capture and post-sale contact, so shoppers share their experience and shape the decisions of future travellers.

The cases EY cites

• Botín (restaurants): Chinese payments and reputation management on Asian social media reversed a negative digital perception and raised its average ticket.
• Casa Batlló (culture): a WeChat ticketing miniprogram, bypassing Google, drove exponential growth in digital sales to this segment.
• Primor (beauty retail): WeChat visibility and payment acceptance, with campaigns such as Chinese New Year.
• Salesas District, Madrid (local retail): a miniprogram to discover neighbourhood shops, with information in Chinese and geolocated maps.
• Universidad Pontificia Comillas (education): an official account and miniprogram with payments that simplify registration for Chinese students.
• Museums (culture): ticketing integrated into WeChat and Alipay miniprograms.

For Asian travellers, existence is digital

EY closes the case with a clear idea: integrating payments and engagement is not a technology upgrade, it is a strategic business decision. STAMP gives retailers the infrastructure to stop being invisible. Curiosity becomes footfall, footfall becomes secure sales, and sales become a brand story shared back in China.

Is your store visible to Chinese tourists? Discover Drive-to-Store, enable Alipay+ and WeChat Pay or talk to our team.

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