Cross-border shopping accounted for 14% of purchases in France last year

Cross-border shopping accounted for 14% of all in-store purchases by households living in France last year, according to new data from Insee, the French statistics office.

According to the data, the majority of these purchases were made in countries including Germany, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and Luxembourg, with more than half of households in border areas crossing a border at least once during the year to make a purchase, according to bank card data.

Average annual spend was particularly high in Luxembourg and Switzerland, where it reached around €1,600 per household over the year, the data showed.

Fuel and tobacco

In terms of the store formats that French consumers shopped most at, purchases were most often made at service stations and tobacconists, reflecting cross-border price differences for fuel and tobacco products.

A high degree of spending was also recorded in hotels and restaurants, suggesting that French consumers also spent on leisure or tourism activities across the border.

The frequency of purchasing varied from country to country, Insee noted. ‘In Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco, purchases were often made by very regular consumers, while in Italy and Andorra mainly by occasional consumers,’ it said. ‘Purchases were more seasonal in Spain, Italy and Andorra than in the other countries, and more often made at weekends.’

Total household spending in border departments rose by 6% in Italy between 2023 and 2024, which was driven by higher tobacco sales, while it declined by 5% in border departments in Belgium, again linked to changes in tobacco purchasing patterns. Read more here.

Consumer prices in France

Separate Insee data indicated that the consumer price index (CPI) rose by an estimated 1.2% in September, following a 0.9% gain in August, largely driven by a ‘marked acceleration’ in service prices.

Energy prices fell slightly, according to the Insee estimates, with food and tobacco products ‘accelerating very slightly’. Manufactured products, meanwhile, were expected to ‘fall at a very slightly faster rate than in the previous month’, Insee said. Read more here.