Manifiesto: the Texas sales tax rebate and cross-border Mexican shoppers

Shoppers around the world cross borders from one country in order to shop in another. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Texas-Mexico border and at in-land Texas retail destinations, where Mexican shoppers are more and more seen as a retail mainstay and a bonanza for many Texas retailers. One potential incentive for international tourists to shop in the US is an exemption, or rebate, on the state sales tax. In an Aug 2004 survey, 212 Mexican shoppers were randomly selected at two large destination Texas retail centers. The findings of this survey provide not only a profile of Mexican consumer behavior at these centers, but also insight into the effectiveness of the sales tax rebate. Forty-seven percent of the 212 Mexican customers indicated some degree of satisfaction with the application process to receive a state sales tax rebate, 34% indicated a degree of dissatisfaction, and the remainder was neutral.