Four Trends Shaping the Future of Travel Retail Experience

 

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the travel retail sector as lockdown restrictions, quarantine periods, and over-all fear of travel in this catastrophic time created major challenges for travel retail. So how should travel retailers evolve in response to the pandemic challenges and get ready for boosted performance in future?

Travel retail strategy should be formed considering the traveler‘s approach and desires. Travel retailers can expect a remarkable rise in sales in the upcoming years. As the number of international passengers is increasing, retailers are experiencing challenges in attracting those tourists into the store and luring them to spend. Stores at ferry terminals, airports, and railway stations require techniques to entice and engage travelers and provide an exclusive and suitable spending experience – regardless of coinage their clients use, or what language they communicate in.

Here are four key travel retail trends to expect in the future years.

1. Technology to Bring in Convenience

Airports, railway stations, and ferry depots have developed as centers for passenger data, by means of numerous digital touch points to allow well-organized check-in and lodging procedures. Currently, passengers are taking up technology to make each step of their trip trouble-free and convenient. According to a survey, almost 98% of airline passengers carry minimum one mobile device and 70% carry more than one. Shops which welcome the desire of passengers for digital can offer a smooth travel retail experience that lures passengers into the shop and attracts them before, during, and even after their journey.

In order to make their store part of the passenger’s digital journey, a travel retailer should:

·         Tie up with travel agencies to obtain all the information required to form personalized offers and suggestions when customers book their tickets or register for their tour.

·         Build connections with travelers on social media to create tailored offers and encourage in-store check-ins.

·         Build websites, mobile apps, and in-store technology to generate a smooth travel retail experience. For instance, ensure that travelers can purchase online and pick the products at the shop before the journey or at the destination.

·         Keep on top of things of the traveler’s mind by developing a loyalty program with offers that can be effortlessly accessed on mobile devices.

2. Changes in Travelers’ Shopping Patterns

Millennials prefer travelling more than any other age group; however, they portray unique shopping patterns. Large pool of millennial tourists shop at airports ‘to spend time’, some prefer buying gifts at the airport, and a few shop to delight themselves and a very few buy on impulse. With no regional restrictions on their retail shopping experience, they hunt for distinctiveness at a higher level during their journey. Travel retailers must acclimate to the needs of millennials and offer experiences that match the interests, desires, and personalities of this unpredictable age group.

To lure travelers to purchase, a travel retailer should:

·         Build connections with travelers using the platform they prefer such as mobile apps, digitalized displays in stores, and social media.

·         Provide location-based and personalized deals and suggestions customized as per their desires and interests.

·         Develop unique facilities like pop-up feature and promotions to entice tourists.

3. Quick Checkout and Check-in Experience

Travelers prefer quick and stress-free check-in, luggage and lodging procedures, and they wish for the same while checking out and clearing the bills. However, the necessity to support numerous types of currencies, languages, and tax rates can result in complications and interruptions in the travel retail checkout.

To ensure that the checkout process is seamless and well-organized, a travel retailer should:

·         Offer a variety of checkout choices, so the travelers can select their convenient payment option. Include options such as online, mobile apps, self-serve kiosks or mPOS (mobile point of sale).

·         Permit travelers to verify prices and process payment in any currency.

·         Ensure that your retail software has travel and duty-free functionality, so that you can effortlessly obtain passport & boarding pass data to calculate tax based on factors such as nationality, and travel route and destination.

4. A Happy Medium brings in Success

Providing the products that best suit travelers’ likings is extremely vital. As there is only limited time to understand customers’ interests, travel retailers cannot afford to go out of stock. However, on a busy station or on an airport, there is no enough space to stock excess either. Understanding which products sells well is always important to entice travelers and boost sales, as well as to ensure well-organized processes.

To optimize the retail performance, a travel retailer should:

·         Make use of tools, such as Business Intelligence (BI), to analyze shopping patterns and understand how travelers in different localities react to your promotions.

·         Automate the ordering of stock depending on average sales and stock levels so that you never run out of stock for products that are in great demand.

·         Make use of loyalty programs, mobile apps, and online communication platforms to obtain insights about travelers’ preferences and interests.

 

Key Takeaway Message!

Travelers are fueling change and compelling travel retailers to evolve their business models to cater their demands despite new challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, travel retailers have to evolve and adopt innovative methods of interacting with millennials.