EUROPE. According to travel retail market and consumer research company m1nd-set, fewer than 10% of European travellers use the Internet to compare prices at airports or to find information on the available shopping opportunities.
The research findings also show that around 90% of European travellers carry a smartphone on trips and that 95% of business and 86% of leisure travellers make use of the Internet at the airport.
These were some of the key findings of m1nd-set’s recent online survey of more than 1,400 travellers throughout Europe. Commissioned by the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) and presented at its recent annual Forum in Brussels, the survey looked at opportunities for growth through greater understanding of travellers’ behaviour with technology and use of social media while travelling.
The findings revealed that just one in ten of the travellers interviewed did not possess a social media profile. 79% of the travellers who did have a social media profile stated that they use Facebook and 76% said that they use LinkedIn.
The majority of travellers use the Internet as a source of information for travel planning (97%) and travel booking – particularly for private trips (91%).
When asked how they would like to receive information about airport shops, 45% said they would prefer to obtain the information via the shop’s website – far more than those who said they would prefer information by email, a specific app or by catalogue.
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Peter Mohn: Less than 10% of travellers say they search online for information about shopping opportunities at the airport |
Commenting on the research findings, m1nd-set owner and CEO Peter Mohn said “The data shows that there is still a great deal to be done by airports, retailers and brands to inform travellers about the shopping opportunities at the airport via their websites. Duty free retailers’ brands are generally less well known than the high street shopping brands so travellers won’t necessarily be looking for the name of retailer X or Y when planning their travel online.
“The industry needs to be much more proactive in getting in front of consumers on their laptops, tablets or phones as they are planning or booking their travel so the duty free shops and shopping opportunities are more visible, whether on search engines, travel booking sites, the airport sites or social media sites.
“With less than 10% of travellers saying that they search for information about shopping opportunities – but more than four times that number interested in finding information via shop websites – there is a clear opportunity for the industry,” Mohn concluded.
ETRC President Sarah Branquinho added: “We have many challenges to overcome in Europe, the majority of which require extensive communication and advocacy with legislators at national and European levels. However the data shared by m1nd-set illustrates that there are also opportunities for growth through investment in a more integrated online marketing strategy.
“Clearly, we are not yet reaching our customers where they are spending a significant amount of time – online and on social media. These results from m1nd-set were eye-opening for us and delegates certainly appreciated the insights.”
