It may be mid-November but in Hong Kong and other parts of the world, Christmas decorations are disturbingly already up. Beautifully packaged gift goodies are rolled out in stores. Snow scenes and reindeer take up residence in shopping malls even in the southern hemisphere.The organized cross off items on shopping lists. The unorganized try to remember to remember to buy presents for loved ones.From a shopper's perspective, frequent traveling can be crippling. It can get worse in the holiday season where Christmas dominates many people's calendars. Why buy something in one city when a trip to a better shopping city is coming up?To pinpoint which cities around the world deliver the most gratifying, enjoyable shopping experiences, we consulted global experts, such as fashion merchandising firm Donegar Creative Services and Marie Bergfelt, senior spokesperson for Global Blue, which publishes the Globe Shopper City Index.Then we judged cities in four areas, using a one-to-10 scoring scale for each category:1. Getting around: Quality of public transportation, affordability and availability of cabs, transport time2. Value: Bargain opportunities, such as sale seasons and average prices.3. Variety: Number of available brands, range of shopping categories, quantity of upscale shops, department stores, boutique and vintage retailers and market stalls.4. Experience: City beauty, quality of window displays and shop décor, friendliness and competence of clerks and service staff, dining and accommodation options.Then we charged into the breach.12. SeoulGetting around: 4 Value: 7 Variety: 4 Experience: 6 Total: 21Fact: South Korea has a serious addiction to shopping. The most serious in the world, in fact.South Korea recorded more credit card transactions per person than any other country in 2011, and all merchants are required by law to accept credit cards no matter how low the price. Yes, that means the phrase "cash only, please" is technically illegal.11. MilanGetting around: 5 Value: 5 Variety: 4 Experience: 8 Total: 22Home to many of fashion's biggest names such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, it's little wonder this beautiful city is full of glamorous locals and shops that cater to them.One of the most beautiful (if expensive) shopping experiences can be found at Quadrilatero della Moda or Quadrilatero d'Oro ('rectangle of gold'), which many fashion insiders consider is the world's most important fashion district.10. MadridGetting around: 6 Value: 6 Variety: 4 Experience: 7 Total: 23Madrid mostly gets our credit cards warm simply for being Madrid, though it's worth noting that the city ranks third for best prices on general luxury items in the Globe Shopper Index.9. Dubai, United Arab EmiratesGetting around: 6 Value: 6 Variety: 8 Experience: 4 Total: 24A miniature kingdom unto itself, the Dubai Mall is the world's largest mall in total area, with theme parks, a waterfall, "dancing" fountains, Olympic-sized ice rink, aquarium, indoor souk and malls within the mall, such as the Galeries Lafayette from France and the first Bloomingdale's outside the United States.If that isn't enough cash registers, there's also the Mall of the Emirates, with the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East.8. ViennaGetting around: 6 Value: 8 Variety: 3 Experience: 8 Total: 25With some of the earliest closing hours out of all the cities on the Globe Shopper Index, Vienna is tricky for shopping.7. Buenos AiresGetting around: 6 Value: 8 Variety: 6 Experience: 7 Total: 27Sexy Argentine dance moves + sexy Argentine climate = sexy Argentine shopping.Yes, the formula sort of sometimes works like that, especially when you're stalking high-quality leather at affordable prices.6. Hong KongGetting around: 10 Value: 5 Variety: 6 Experience: 7 Total: 28Hong Kong's shop clerks are borderline stalkers -- in a good way.5. ParisGetting around: 6 Value: 6 Variety: 8 Experience: 9 Total: 29The best shops in Paris don't sell clothes. They sell lifestyles.Whimsical concept shop Merci stocks a selection of designer goods that fall under the category of utterly useless but absolutely desirable, such as art deco Bakelite switches. It's housed in an airy and vaguely bucolic space that includes a secondhand bookshop, florist and café. In addition to the Annick Goutal scent line, Merci stocks apparel by Stella McCartney and Yves St Laurent, often with deep discounts.4. Kuala LumpurGetting around: 6 Value: 10 Variety: 8 Experience: 6 Total: 30Sometimes bigger really is better.That's the prevailing shopper's ethic in Kuala Lumpur, anyway.Three of the world's 10 largest malls are in KL, including 1 Utama, the world's fourth-largest mall with more than 650 shops, Asia's largest indoor rock climbing facility, massive rooftop garden with 500 species of exotic plants and indoor rainforest with koi ponds and freshwater aquarium.3. LondonGetting around: 6 Value: 6 Variety: 10 Experience: 9 Total: 31London prices can destroy your will to live. And that's just the cab fare to get to the shopping areas.But get over the sticker shock and you'll probably agree with its Globe Shopper Index ranking as top European shopping city and its Donegar Group nod as the world's top fashion shopping destination.The Globe Shopper City Index notes that London outstrips all the other European cities in both the quantity of shops and availability of international and local brands.2. TokyoGetting around: 8 Value: 8 Variety: 9 Experience: 9 Total: 34The ultimate Tokyo shopping experience is the department store. Walk into one and you'll be met like a royal.1. New YorkGetting around: 8 Value: 7 Variety: 10 Experience: 10 Total: 35In what other city do you see a toddlers running around in perfectly matching Tory Burch ballet flats and tiny purses or be able to go on curated vintage shopping sprees?"This town has so much diversity in style and interpretations of chic," says New York-based fashion editor and stylist Stella Lee.For something you can't simply Google up, Lee recommends vintage showroom Rare Vintage for "anyone who is visiting and in search of a shopping gem unique to NYC.""You can find pieces from every possible era spanning the entire last century of fashion history, and from a wide range of design houses including the likes of Galanos, Dior, Givenchy, Ungaro, Pierre Cardin, Ossie Clark, and more," says Lee.If you have the stamina to get up at ungodly hours for the city's sample sale stampedes, New York Magazine has a comprehensive guide.(CNN)ANN.Az