Britain's Surprise Shopaholics: Nigerians

Nigerian businessman Godwin Patrick took a three-week holiday to the U.K. this month to visit cousins. It wasn’t the only reason. “I’m here to shop,” the 38-year-old says as he strolls down London’s Oxford Street, clutching bags from Marks & Spencer and Associated British Foods’ Primark containing trousers for himself and dresses for his family in Lagos.

London retailers are big fans of Nigerian shoppers such as Patrick. The African country was the fourth-biggest contributor to overseas tax-free shopping in the U.K. last year, behind only China, Russia, and the Middle East, according to Global Blue U.K., a company that helps foreign shoppers claim a refund of Britain’s 20 percent value-added tax. (Foreigners get the break on most purchases if they take them outside the European Union.) A growing Nigerian population in the U.K. and more frequent direct flights between the countries has led to an influx of visitors who have more to spend because of the former British colony’s booming oil-driven economy.