Duty Free World Council releases latest Global Shopping Monitor

INTERNATIONAL. The Duty Free World Council’s (DFWC) quarterly KPI Monitor for the first quarter of 2016 shows an increase in satisfaction with travel retail service levels among over 4,000 travellers surveyed worldwide in the period.

As reported, the DFWC initiated a Global Shopping Monitor of duty free shopping trends, with the first report covering the fourth quarter of 2015. The move is part of a continuous project to measure perceptions of the duty free & travel retail industry among travellers. DFWC is conducting the quarterly Global KPI Monitor in partnership with specialist travel retail research company m1nd-set. The Monitor covers satisfaction with the shops, product range, differentiation from the domestic channel and perceived value for money, among other topics.

When comparing the results across regions for Q1 against Q4 2015, South Americans were the only regional segment in which the ‘Customer Satisfaction Index’ was lower in the latest period. This is due to a decrease in satisfaction with the product variety available in the duty free shops, noted the survey.

The DFWC Customer Satisfaction Index and (below) comparisons with Q4 2016 (Source for all charts: DFWC; m1nd-set)

North American travellers by contrast expressed an increased level of satisfaction with the duty free shopping experience, an upturn driven mainly by an improved perception of both the level of service and the atmosphere in duty free shops.

Overall, shoppers were least satisfied with the technology offer and the local touch and identity offered in the channel. Additionally the range of affordable products and the uniqueness of products and services offer significant room for improvement, according to the report.

There was no change in the satisfaction levels for the indicator which has the highest impact on the overall results – value for money – tobacco surpassed both alcohol and P&C as the most “positively perceived” category. Fashion has also improved in the rankings on this indicator compared to the previous quarter.

New to this quarterly monitor report is a comparison of the level of planned versus impulse purchasing across the regions. North Americans emerge as the most likely travellers to purchase on impulse, while Middle East and African travellers are most likely to plan their duty free purchases. Globally, more than 50% of purchases continue to be on impulse with fashion, accessories, jewellery and electronics being the most likely categories to be bought on impulse. As before, alcohol, tobacco and cosmetics are the most planned purchases.

Other new features included in the Q1 2016 report include details on the moment travellers decide to make a duty free purchase, a decision revealed to be most commonly made at home, before leaving for the airport, closely followed by making the decision in the shop.

Price comparison behaviour is another aspect covered in this Q1 monitor with South Americans shown to be the most likely to compare prices and North Americans the least likely. Cosmetics and alcohol are the categories for which prices are most commonly compared. On a global level, less than half – 44% – of travellers claim to compare prices.

More detailed data on the regional disparities for each aspect studied is available from m1nd-set upon request (info@m1nd-set.com).

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