UP IN THE AIR - THE FUTURE OF AIRPORT RETAIL

If you’re one of the lucky ones jetting off on holidays, you’ll no doubt be tempted to wander the shops within the airport terminals which are finally coming back to life now that border restrictions have lifted following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aviation industry wasn’t the only one hit hard by the grounding of flights across airports all over the world these past 2 years – airport retail partners have suffered significantly too. 

To give you an idea of just how much they’ve been impacted, retail revenue at Sydney’s international airport fell to $87.4 million dollars in 2021 compared to $184.2 million in 2019!

As passengers return to the skies, it’s a welcome return of customers to airport retail stores too. Although the typical traveller and hence shopper is changing and retailers need to be mindful of this.

There is a shift towards younger, non-business travellers in many airports which has created opportunities for different types of retail tenants, particularly in the fashion sector.

With this new demographic also comes a greater demand for digital solutions to make shopping before travel even more convenient. For example, Perth airport is launching a new online shopping platform offering products and services such as duty-free goods, click and collect as well as click and deliver options to help airport retail bounce back!

As tough as it is to see everyone’s Euro-trips across our Instagram feeds lately, we’re super happy for the retailers that will benefit from the long-awaited revival of domestic and international travel. The outlook is good. Really good in fact with the global airport retail market set to double from where it is today to US$41.6 billion by 2027.

Safe travels and happy shopping!