Shopping can be even more fun while on holiday, and discovering designer stores, luxury boutiques and unique outlets while abroad is one of the best ways to shop.
The team at Hey Discount wanted to find the best locations in the world for those who love fashion and all things shopping, so we looked at the number of shopping malls, boutiques and fashion stores in some of the world’s top cities for shopping.
The Best Shopping Locations In The World
1. Tokyo - Shopping score: 9/10
Tokyo is a paradise for shopping lovers - it’s one of the only cities in the world where you can buy just about anything you could ever want. From unique outfits to cosmetics and tech items, Tokyo has everything a shopping lover needs.
We found 1,970 places for shopping in Tokyo on Tripadvisor, and 240 shopping malls and department stores within one mile of the city, more than any other city on our list. There are also 149 official retailers and outlet boutiques in Tokyo, of the top designer brands we looked at.
Stores include: Shiseido, MAC Cosmetics, GAP, G-star
2. London - Shopping score: 8/10
London is one of the fashion capitals of the world, and its place as one of the world’s most ideal cities for shopping is well established.
It’s easy to see why London ranks second on our list, home to hundreds of flagship stores and some of Europe’s top shopping locations. London has 1,221 places for shopping listed on Tripadvisor, and 100 shopping malls and department stores within one mile on Yelp. Looking at some of the top fashion designers, there are 81 official retailers, boutiques and stores located in London, including 19 Rolex retailers.
Stores include: Matches Fashion, Harvey Nichols, Zee & Co, Liberty London, House of Fraser, Flannels
3. Paris - Shopping score: 7.42/10
The heart of fashion and haute couture, Paris is a dream destination for any fashion lover. Home to Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermès to name a few, Paris is undeniably one of the world’s best cities for fashion and shopping lovers. Paris has 1,116 locations for shopping according to Tripadvisor, and 45 shopping malls and department stores within one mile. The city is home to 86 boutique stores within a mile and we found 102 top designer stores and official retailers in the area.
Stores include: Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein, Coach, Armani Beauty, Clarins, Erborian, Zadig Et Volitaire
The Worst Shopping Locations In The World
1. Vienna - Shopping score: 1.17/10
A popular shopping destination for lovers of high-end shopping and bargain shopping alike, Vienna is a large and diverse city with plenty of variety. Vienna ranks at the bottom of our list, as the worst shopping location in the world. According to Tripadvisor, Vienna is home to 267 locations for shopping, fewer than most cities we looked at.
On Yelp, Vienna has just 5 fashion shops and 2 shopping malls within one mile. All of the designer brands we looked at have at least one official store or retailer in Vienna, although these total up to just 15 in the city.
2. Munich - Shopping score: 2/10
Munich is home to elegant shopping arcades and trendy neighbourhoods, and the city is a major attraction for shoppers. Ranking near the bottom of our list, Munich has fewer shops than most other cities we looked at. Munich is home to 144 shopping locations on Tripadvisor, and 71 fashion shops according to Yelp.
However, Munich has just 15 shopping malls and 6 boutique stores within one mile of the city. From the top fashion designers we looked at, Munich has 29 official stores and licensed retailers.
3. Stockholm - Shopping score: 2.33/10
Sweden’s shopping capital, Stockholm is a top shopping destination, however, it ranks in our bottom three cities. On Tripadvisor, Stockholm is home to 124 shopping locations, and the city has 240 fashion stores on Yelp. However, it has just 31 shopping malls, 10 boutique stores and 12 top designer outlets and retailers.
Methodology
We wanted to find the best cities for shopping worldwide, therefore compiled a list of 25 locations using lists from CNN, Tropical Sky, The Travel, CN Traveler, CEO World, and Forbes. We gave each location a normalised ‘shopping score out of 10’ for each of the factors listed below. We then calculated an average based on each location’s score for each factor, which we used to create our ranking.
The number of shopping locations in each city was sourced from Tripadvisor on 22/04/22.
The number of fashion shops within one mile of each city was sourced from Yelp on 20/04/22 by searching for ‘clothing stores’ and using the ‘fashion’ filter.
The number of shopping malls, including department stores, within one mile of each city was sourced from Yelp on 20/04/22 by searching for ‘shopping malls’.
The number of boutique stores within one mile of each city was sourced from Yelp on 21/04/22 by searching for ‘boutique shopping’.
The number of top designer boutiques, outlets and official retailers in each city was sourced on 21/04/22 by using the official websites of top designers (Cartier, Rolex, Tiffany & Co, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Burberry, Valentino, Versace, Hermès and Dior). We excluded airport stores, galleries and virtual stores from our total.
