French startup airfree has taken a further step towards commercially launching what it claims is the ‘first inflight duty free product marketplace’ after securing a €2.3m/$2.6m capital injection.

Support from Shiseido and the Starburst accelerator combined with a validated ‘Proof of Concept’ in association with Singapore Airlines’ Krislab program means airfree is in a strengthened position to market to airlines.

It says it has devised an e/m-commerce platform that ‘deeply transforms the experience of selling products inflight thanks to digital technology’ to generate incremental sales for airlines and airport duty free retailers.

‘WHITE LABEL’ SOLUTION

According to its website, the company provides the duty free industry with a ‘white label marketplace’ by integrating retail inventories into a website personalised to the airline, allowing airfree to act as an intermediary in a virtual ‘plug and play personalised omni-channel marketplace platform’.

The company says its SaaS technology and software has been developed to optimise what is typically unstable and sluggish inflight internet bandwidth to enable passengers ‘perfect seamless navigation’ to browse and order products. This can be done pre-flight and onboard, with pre-order also an option.

Airlines are said to benefit from a premium service through a digital catalogue of more than 1,000 products; duty free retailers receive revenue from a targeted or extended period of time; and passengers enjoy a ‘premium experience’ with access to all available product in duty free shops, while passengers are in transit, at the airport, on arrival, or via click-and-collect.

INFLIGHT EVOLVING?

The start-up adds impetus to an inflight retail marketplace whose traditional boutique model continues to be under marked pressure, evidenced by carriers such as KLM and more recently SAS withdrawing from the market [although it is worth noting that sales grew by 4.2% to more than $2.5bn in 2018 and while this lags behind the more lucrative decades of the past, it at least illustrates a more healthy financial picture for the sector than in recent years – Ed].

Others including Qatar Airways and TAP Portugal meanwhile are actively reconfiguring their inflight retail business propositions. Duty Free Americas has also recently entered the inflight retail market with a contract for Ukrainian Airlines, as revealed exclusively by TRBusiness.

DFA has been clear on the ‘amazing captive audience’ offered by the channel and while it admitted inflight is not a ‘strategic priority’ for the business it seems determined to enhance the concession.

While the future of inflight retail remains a divisive issue, TRBusiness notes in conversations with industry stakeholders that moves to actively re-appraise the existing model are on the whole being embraced.