m1nd-set explodes myth on comparative pricing

By Doug Newhouse |

Less than 10% of European airport travellers use smartphones to compare airport retail prices with other retail channels when travelling.

 

So claims the respected travel retail market research specialist m1nd-set, following new online research commissioned by the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) from 1400 European travellers.

 

These and other interesting findings were apparently presented at ETRC’s recent annual Brussels Forum where the research house said its brief was to look at opportunities for growth through a better understanding of travellers’ behaviour with technology, as well as their use of social media while travelling.

 

m1nd-set said that amongst some of the more ‘important and actionable insights’, it found that just one in ten travellers did not have a social media profile, with 79% acknowledging membership of Facebook and 76% belonging to LinkedIn.

 

Deciphering the research, m1nd-set said its findings show that the ‘vast majority of travellers’ use the internet both as a source of information for their travel planning (97%) and for their travel booking, particularly for private trips (91%).

 

Quizzed further on how they might 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 application, or via a catalogue.

 

Peter Mohn , m1nd-set CEO and Owner.

 

 

‘A GREAT DEAL TO BE DONE..’

All of which suggests that there is still ‘a great deal to be done’ in terms of work by airports, retailers and brands to inform travellers of airport shopping opportunities via their websites.

 

m1nd-set CEO and Owner Peter Mohn said: “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 therefore 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 declaring they search information about the shopping opportunities – yet more than four times that number of travellers interested in finding information via the shop websites – there is a clear opportunity for the industry.”

 

ETRC President Sarah Branquinho said: “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.”

 

Telling it like it is… Rafael Echevarne, ACI World’s Economics and Programme Development Director.

 

TRBUSINESS COMMENTS:

This latest research is certainly interesting and hopefully should prove useful – especially considering that the vast majority of potential airport travel retail customers do not use these shops at all. However, it should be said that more compelling and persuasive messages than the industry has been able to generate as a whole so far would appear to be just as important.

 

For example, some of the very important research findings by ACI on why airport passengers don’t buy should also be taken into account if new messaging of any kind is to be effective in future.

 

Last June (2014), ACI World’s Economics and Programme Development Director Rafael Echevarne told the ASUTIL Conference in Mexico there were big problems. He said consistent ACI ’global’ research clearly shows passengers with any intent to buy duty free goods at all numbered just 25%, with just 14% saying they planned to buy ‘non-duty free’, while those planning to use F&B facilities were numbered at 35%.

 

Echevarne said the reasons for this low-level of interest were even more worrying, with 50% responding that they didn’t find what they wanted and 27% claiming products were just too expensive. Another 7% were quoted as saying that they simply did not want to carry the goods. [Echevarne also repeated this message quoting ACI’s global surveys yet again at last September’s Trinity Forum in Taipei]. DOUG NEWHOUSE.

 

 

 

 

 

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