Today, Heathrow is opening ‘the world’s first’ airport Personal Shopping Lounge in the newly inaugurated Terminal 2 to complement the hub’s personal shopping service already on offer at LHR’s other terminals.

 

Terminal 2 now boasts a dedicated lounge where passengers can browse, try on and purchase from a selection of products in a ‘comfortable and private consultation suite’.

 

Heathrow believes that its exclusive Personal Shopping service can match the variety and quality of London’s most iconic shopping districts – Bond Street, Piccadilly Arcade, Regent Street, Knightsbridge. LHR will allow customers access to more than 140 brands bringing together Chanel, Gucci, Dior and more, all in one place. The lounge also has free Wi-Fi and an information display screen so passengers are kept up-to-date with the latest flight details.

 

Heathrow says there are over 400 outlets at the airport available to peruse through LHR’s Personal Shopping service.

 

EVOLVING SHOPPING HABITS

Using the airport’s new service, passengers can book a bespoke consultation with an accredited stylist either ahead of time or on arrival at Heathrow.

 

Max Vialou-Clark, Retail Director at Heathrow said, “Our shopping habits are evolving, we’re now looking for that quick fashion fix more often, more socially connected and with a more bespoke or personal feel. As a result of these trends, we’ve launched our Personal Shopping Lounge for the 73 million passengers a year that pass through our doors. Now everyone can enjoy VIP treatment, whether you’re a business traveller on the go or are just hunting for that perfect gift.”

 

 

Fusing on and offline, Heathrow new lounge is available for all passengers flying through Heathrow, irrespective of their class of travel. “Customers booking an appointment in advance can enjoy individually tailored appointments with an accredited stylist in Heathrow’s dedicated suite, all completely free of charge,” says LHR.”

 

To mark the opening of the new lounge, Heathrow conducted some research in the shopping habits of UK consumers. The number of visitors to the UK high-street is falling with bargain hunters citing crowded stores (70%), items being out of stock (51%), constant queuing (42%) and messy piles of clothes (37%) as their most hated high-street grievances.

 

SHOPPING BATTLES

In fact, those shopping in the UK spend 24.5 days – close to a month – of their lifetime battling against other shoppers on the hunt for that perfect find, according to Heathrow’s new study.

 

With passengers spending £1.8bn per year on perfumes, clothing, scarves, sunglasses, jewellery, watches, bags and small leather goods from 140 brands, Heathrow has mined its wealth of retail insight to unearth a new breed of social media shopper.

 

The hub airport’s new study shows that 21st Century shoppers value social media as one of their most frequently used sources of fashion inspiration turning to Facebook (54%) and Twitter (24%) for style tips rather than Pinterest (22%), Instagram (20%) or YouTube (19%).

 

“Whether it’s online or in person, one thing about our changing shopping habits remains consistent, we still can’t make a purchase without asking others what they think (26%),” says the operator.