Kickstart schemes

This month we are focussing upon the travel sector and we begin by looking at how airports and travel retailers are attempting to re-ignite passenger spending.

Omnichannel
Omnichannel has been a buzzword in the travel sector since 2015 when Frankfurt Airport became the world’s first omnichannel airport in partnership with AOE. Airports including Auckland, Changi and Heathrow quickly followed with their own omnichannel retail experiences.

As Gen Y and Gen Z passengers become the more affluent passengers, airports need to invest in and explore the blending of the digital and physical channels of travel retail to achieve maximum conversion.

Omnichannel shopping experiences allow passengers to seamlessly integrate retail into any stage of their travel journey. The omnichannel experience works by enabling offers running in airport retail stores to be accessed via websites or mobile apps and allowing convenient online purchase and delivery to a gate of choice. Omnichannel systems use business intelligence and personalisation to provide relevant information and services to passengers during their trip.

Frankfurt’s renewed partnership with Omnevo, an omnichannel e-commerce solutions provider, saw Frankfurt continue generating sales through its digital marketplace solutions through the pandemic.

Omnichannel platforms can also be used for promotional deals. iShopChangi has an annual iShopathon, a campaign offering five weeks of special deals which saw an increased customer engagement.

Luxury pop-ups
Historically Pop-up shops have been a great way to engage and convert a captive customer base into revenue at airports. Luxury brands have started using airport pop-ups to re-invigorate their brand and to promote new and even exclusive products, while capturing audiences with unique interactive experiences.

A successful airport retail pop-up will have a combination of exclusivity, interactive elements and a wow-factor that leaves the passengers with a unique and lasting experience. Last holiday season Dufry, Heathrow airport and JCDecaux partnered together to launch a Chanel No 5 Spaceship at T5 which had an augmented reality digital screen allowing shoppers to virtually try on products with a travel exclusive offer of Chanel's advent calendar. Another recent example is Moncler, the Italian luxury goods and jewellery brand, which launched its first ever signature fragrances for men and women exclusively with Qatar Duty Free at Hamad International Airport with two eye-catching pop-ups. The fragrances are available exclusively at HIA and can be personalised with a name or message printed digitally on the bottle.

Affordable luxury & home-grown brands
Even though luxury will still have a major stake in travel retail, affordable luxury is a category that will become increasingly sought after in airports, just as there is now a premium economy class in planes. With growing consumer demand for more sustainable and local choices, local affordable luxury brands can offer both value for money and the satisfaction of owning a premium unique product.

15% of the product range at Peru's Jorge-Chavez International Airport's new duty free stores are local products (in excess of 800 products), giving travellers a taste of Peru. Vantage group has announced that 80% of shopping and eating experiences in Kansas City International Airport will be local, while Velana International Airport in Maldives features a specialty retail store offering a diverse variety of products from local businesses encapsulating the unique culture of Maldives.


Travel retail trends have evolved and changed particularly during the past two years due to the pandemic. This has forced airports and retailers to think differently and identify what will work in the post pandemic world as well as what needs to be developed further to cater for the needs of the changing passenger demographics. The speed and ability to implement these retail trends will be the key to a successful travel retail recovery.

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Mohamed Hisham