Key Takeaway
In the second quarter of 2026, shopping was the main purpose of 177,700 of the 571,900 outbound visits made by Georgian residents-31.1% of the total. This does not mean that every third citizen or traveller went abroad to shop: the statistic counts visits, and one person may make several trips. The scale is nevertheless clear. Shopping is now the second most common primary purpose of outbound travel. The data do not identify a single cause. The stronger explanation is a bundle of competitive advantages: price, selection, brand availability, proximity, familiar routes, trusted warranties and service. For Georgian retail, the challenge therefore extends well beyond discounts.
What “Every Third” Actually Means
Geostat reports that Georgian resident visitors made 571,900 outbound visits in April–June 2026. Visiting friends and relatives was the main purpose of 199,300 visits, shopping of 177,700, and leisure of 119,900. Shopping-purpose visits were therefore almost 48% more numerous than leisure-purpose visits.
The headline needs statistical precision: the 31.1% is a share of visits, not a share of unique people. The same consumer may have crossed the border several times during the quarter. The defensible conclusion is that shopping motivated nearly one in three outbound visits.
| Indicator | Value | Interpretation |
| Shopping-purpose visits | 177,700 | Shopping was the main purpose of 31.1% of all visits |
| All outbound visits | 571,900 | Shopping ranked second only to visiting friends and relatives |
| Türkiye and Armenia | 314,000 | 54.9% of all visits; no published purpose-by-country cross-tabulation |
| Repeat visits | 98.3% | Outbound travel was overwhelmingly familiar behaviour rather than a first attempt |
| Trade turnover in Georgia | GEL 19.7bn | Domestic trade was a large sector in Q1 2026, but scale alone does not prove competitiveness |
Source: Geostat; percentage share derived by BTU researchers.
Price Matters, but the Dataset Does Not Prove It
Price is the most intuitive explanation. In a small market, import, logistics, inventory, distribution and commercial-property costs may make a product cheaper in a larger neighbouring market. Seasonal discounts, tax arrangements and economies of scale can widen the gap. Yet Geostat does not compare like-for-like product prices in Georgia and destination markets. “Georgians travel because prices are lower” is therefore a plausible hypothesis, not a fact established by this dataset.
Exchange rates also work differently across product categories. A stronger lari can make foreign goods more affordable, while depreciation should weaken the shopping incentive. But consumers do not decide on the official exchange rate alone. Travel, time, food, accommodation, customs rules, returns and warranty difficulties form part of the cost. The relevant comparison is total acquisition cost, not shelf price against shelf price.
Selection Can Be Stronger Than Price
Georgia’s market is limited in size. That does not automatically make its retail sector weak: trade turnover reached GEL 19.7 billion in Q1 2026, with 234,600 people employed. But scale does not guarantee that consumers will find every brand, size, model, package or new collection. Companies in smaller markets tend to manage inventory cautiously, so depth of assortment can matter as much as price.
According to BTU researchers, the high share of shopping visits should be read not only as a search for cheaper goods but as a search for a more complete offer. For consumers, a store combines price, assortment, confidence in authenticity, the ability to try a product, returns, warranties and service. If several links are weak, a domestic retailer can lose even when the price difference is small.
Why Cross-Border Retail Is Practical
Across all purposes, Türkiye and Armenia together accounted for 314,000 visits, or 54.9% of the total. The published data do not allow these visits to be assigned to shopping because no purpose-by-country cross-tabulation is available. Even so, neighbouring markets are important context: land borders reduce the monetary and organisational barriers to travel, particularly for residents of western and southern Georgia.
The same report states that 98.3% of all visits were repeat visits. This is not a shopping-only measure, but it shows that outbound travel was overwhelmingly familiar behaviour. Familiar roads, stores, discount seasons and payment routines reduce uncertainty. Once consumers have learned a route, a later visit becomes easier and can develop into a habit.
E-commerce Both Substitutes for and Supports Travel
E-commerce might appear to replace a physical shopping trip: consumers can compare foreign prices from home and order through a delivery intermediary. Geostat separately tracks internet use for buying or ordering goods and services, confirming that the digital channel is part of consumer choice. Yet online retail does not always reduce travel. It can reveal assortment, discounts and store-level availability in advance, making a planned physical trip easier.
Some goods still need to be inspected because of fit, quality, authenticity or warranty concerns. Shipping fees, delivery time, returns and customs thresholds also change the online advantage. Georgian retailers therefore compete not just with a foreign store but with the consumer’s entire omnichannel journey-from online discovery to in-store purchase.
The Domestic Response Is a Complete Offer, Not a Single Discount
The 31.1% does not represent an immediately addressable market. We do not know what consumers bought, how much shopping-purpose travellers spent, the price gap or how many would have purchased the same goods in Georgia. But the statistic is strong enough to define the next research agenda.
Retailers should compare specific baskets with neighbouring markets, measure assortment gaps, study trust in returns and warranties, use pre-orders and rapid delivery for rare sizes and models, and build regional offers that compete with the total cost of crossing the border. Policymakers should produce more detailed anonymised statistics linking purpose, country, product category and expenditure.
The core conclusion is simple: Georgian consumers do not cross a border only because a product may be cheaper. They are searching for a better overall choice. Winning part of that demand at home will not come from limiting travel. It will come from making the domestic offer competitive enough that the total cost of going abroad no longer feels worthwhile.
A focused scorecard should track basket price gaps, failed searches, unavailable brands and sizes, return time and refusal reasons, warranty-resolution time, online inventory accuracy and repeat purchasing. Turnover alone cannot explain why demand crosses the border.
Six Tips for Georgian Retailers
First, measure total acquisition cost, not only shelf price. Consumers compare the product, travel, time, warranty and return risk. Retailers need category-level basket benchmarks that reveal where the domestic gap is small and where it is genuinely large.
Second, make assortment gaps a KPI. No sale does not always mean no demand; the desired brand, size, model or colour may simply be unavailable. Failed searches, out-of-stock demand and pre-orders should inform purchasing decisions.
Third, treat returns and warranties as sales tools. In the EU, online purchases generally carry a 14-day withdrawal right, subject to exceptions, and faulty goods receive a minimum two-year legal guarantee. These are not statements of Georgian law; they are experience benchmarks that Georgian shoppers may encounter abroad. Clear local policies reduce purchase risk.
Fourth, measure service through behaviour. In PwC’s 2025 US customer-experience survey, 52% said they stopped using or buying from a brand after a bad product or service experience and 29% cited poor customer experience specifically. The survey is not representative of Georgia, but it demonstrates the mechanism: one bad interaction can erase a price advantage.
Fifth, integrate online and physical retail. Real inventory, sizes, prices, delivery dates and return terms should be visible online and consistent in store. The competitive unit is the entire journey from search to warranty.
Sixth, study the “lost basket.” Ask what customers could not find, where they bought it, why they trusted another seller and what would bring them back. This converts the 31.1% macro signal into commercial decisions.
Key Findings
- Shopping was the main purpose of 177,700 outbound visits, or 31.1% of the total, in Q2 2026.
- The indicator measures visits, not unique citizens.
- Türkiye and Armenia accounted for 54.9% of all visits, but the country distribution of shopping-purpose visits is not published.
- Price, selection, exchange rates and border proximity are plausible mechanisms, but their individual weights cannot be determined from these data.
- The domestic opportunity depends on the complete offer: price, assortment, trust, warranties and omnichannel service.
Data and Main Sources
National Statistics Office of Georgia – Outbound Tourism Statistics, Q2 2026 – https://www.geostat.ge/media/81933/გამყვანი-ტურიზმის-სტატისტიკა—(II-კვარტალი,-2026-წელი).pdf
National Statistics Office of Georgia – Trade Indicators – https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/388/trade302
National Statistics Office of Georgia – ICT Usage in Households – https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/106/information-and-communication-technologies-usage-in-households
National Bank of Georgia – Macroeconomic Overview, June 2026 – https://nbg.gov.ge/fm/პუბლიკაციები/პრეზენტაციები/მაკროეკონომიკური_მიმოხილვა/master-presentation-for-web-30-06-2026-eng.pdf