M1nd-set’s Business 1ntelligence Service travel retail data platform has revealed an insight into the impact of consumer touchpoints prior to entering the airport duty free shop.

Its latest report incorporates data from interviews with around 70,000 international travellers from around the world and examines the impact of touchpoints on the decision making process. This includes the likelihood to visit the shops, their decision to purchase, how many categories they purchase and the amount spent in duty free shops.

The touchpoints covered in the survey include online, which includes duty free and downtown shop websites and online travel agency sites and social media, billboards (downtown and at the airport), traditional media and inflight media (catalogue brochure) and inflight entertainment systems.

The first major key finding is that online touchpoints are most impactful across the three main topics survey respondents were asked to address. These are the impact of visiting the shops (+39%) the impact on purchasing and impact on overall conversion from visitors to buyers. The downtown shop website had the highest impact (+41%) among all other online media.

ONLINE MEDIA

The impact of online media is even greater on the decision to purchase, with a +106% increase compared to +84% for billboards, +83% for traditional media and +73% for inflight media. The impact of online media on the increase in conversion rate from visitors to buyers is +47%. This is seven points ahead of the second category, billboards, which scored well in the home country with an average impact of +48%.

The report also assesses the impact of touchpoints on the average number of categories visited and purchased. Billboards and posters have the most impact globally, increasing the likelihood of increasing the number of categories visited by 54%. Jewellery & watches, make-up and skincare all benefit above average from all four touchpoints.

Their impact on the number of categories visited, along with clothing & accessories also rated above average for traditional media touchpoints. When looking at the impact of touchpoints on the number of categories purchased, the report reveals that traditional media has the highest impact, increasing the likelihood to purchase more categories in duty free shops by +129%.

Jewellery & Watches is the category most impacted by touchpoints with online touchpoints having almost three-times more impact on purchasing this category than the global average.

In terms of amount spent, online media as a touch-point has the highest impact on international travellers globally, followed by billboards, traditional media and inflight. As with other aspects in this report, m1nd-set reveals that touchpoints in Asia-Pacific have a higher impact than in other world regions, followed by the Middle East and Africa.

Peter Mohn, m1nd-set Owner and CEO comments: “From the first encounter with a brand until the moment of purchase, it’s estimated that consumers come into contact with or ‘touch’ a brand around 60 times.

“The speed at which these various touchpoints are developed and are evolving means it is increasingly challenging to remain present across them all and relevant in the eyes of the consumer and millennial in particular, who are typically the early adopters.

“It’s vital for retailers and brands to determine which touchpoints are most important for them. Our research shows that the more frequent and more positive the touchpoints, the higher the propensity to engage with and convert the consumer into a shopper. Our report concludes with clear recommendations about how the industry can optimise certain touch-points.”

Mohn added: “In-store communications are highly influential, often more so than traditional media adverts. There are increasing means to optimise each consumer touchpoint and personalise the in-store experience to influence the customer’s shopper behaviour while they are in the airport shop.”

Earlier this year, m1nd-set partnered with TRBusiness as part of the inaugural travel retail industry awards voted for by consumers. Click here for the highlights.