What's actually worth buying in New York
Global luxury brands, chain stores, and department stores are available in New York at the same prices (or often higher, accounting for sales tax) as other major cities. What New York actually offers that's harder to find elsewhere: deep vintage and secondhand markets, independent bookshops that have survived where others haven't, small-batch food producers and specialty food shops, and the density of independent clothing and record shops concentrated in specific neighbourhoods.
By neighbourhood
SoHo — the densest concentration of flagship stores and international brands in the city. Worth walking for the architecture; the shopping is available anywhere. A few genuinely independent shops survive between the Zaras and the Apples.
Lower East Side and East Village — vintage clothing, independent record shops, small-press bookshops, and the kind of boutiques that stock things you won't find on Net-a-Porter. Orchard Street on the LES has a Sunday flea market in season.
Brooklyn Flea — one of the best flea markets in the US, with a mix of vintage furniture, clothing, records, and food vendors. Seasonal; locations shift, so check the current schedule.
The Strand Bookstore — 18 miles of books on four floors near Union Square, an independent bookshop that has been operating since 1927 and remains genuinely remarkable for its selection and its survival. A New York institution.
Chelsea Market — see our food halls guide for the food, but the market level also has design shops, cookware stores, and specialty retailers worth browsing.
Fifth Avenue, Midtown — department stores (Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue), global flagship stores, and tourist retail. Fine if that's what you're looking for; skip it if you're not.
Sales tax
New York State sales tax on most goods is 4%; New York City adds another 4.5%, for a combined rate of 8.875% on most purchases. Clothing and footwear items priced under $110 per item are exempt from state and city sales tax — a meaningful exception that catches many visitors by surprise (in a good way).