The company is best known for tax-free shopping,[1] a VAT/GST refund product and also operates in dynamic currency conversion, marketing services, point-of-sale technology, retail staff education, and customer intelligence.

Started in Sweden in 1980, tax-free shopping is about refunding the VAT/GST levied in normal stores on the high street to non-resident visitors who will privately export the goods purchased, according to the legislation in the European Union[3] and other countries.

[8][9] On 10 April 2014 Global Blue announced the appointment of David Baxby as chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors, taking over from Per Setterberg, who had run the company for 25 years.

[11] In 2010, Global Blue and the Economist Intelligence Unit started to use the expression 'globe shopper' to identify the market segment of "people who consider shopping as a fundamental part of their travel experience".

[21] Global Blue is also a certified supplier of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Quality Service Certification programme.