INTERNATIONAL. Over three quarters of international travellers would like to see improvements in the airport shopping experience, according to a new report.
Swiss research and consulting agency m1nd-set has released its latest impact research on how to drive footfall and conversion into airport shops. It reveals that international travellers seek improvements in the creative design of airport stores.
The report, based on 2,000 face-to-face interviews in airports with international travellers from all world regions, highlights the importance of “curating’’ retail experiences to drive more footfall to stores.
Almost nine out of ten (89%) international travellers said they find downtown shopping environments are better at providing “experiential retail’’ than airport shops.
According to the research findings, currently only 14% of global passengers visit duty free shops because they enjoy the experience and 51% of travellers who do not visit the shops say they would visit if they knew they were to discover experiential retail.
Millennials are the most satisfied with the airport shopping experience among all age groups, followed by middle-aged travellers.
“The challenge for brands and retailers today is providing the unexpected to consumers who are expecting more. Shoppers still place importance on well-known global brands and the values they represent, but shopper behaviour is changing and brand loyalty among consumers is facing a new challenge,” said m1nd-set owner and CEO Peter Mohn.
“Brands and retailers need to go a step further and woo their customers by transforming the ‘shopping trip’ into a ‘shopping journey’, fresh with new experiences that make the customer feel excited, entertained, needed and even loved.
“Consumers will be increasingly serviced with experiential retail that goes far beyond the traditional shopping experience in other retail environments. They will expect the same from airport retail so the industry needs to keep up to date with their consumers’ expectations.”
