The latest Duty Free World Council (DFWC) quarterly KPI Monitor, produced by Swiss research and consultancy agency m1nd-set has indicated duty free shops are perceived as ideal locations to find new products.

The novelty factor in duty free shops has seen an 8% growth in passenger satisfaction over the last 12 months and a 3% increase since the first quarter of 2018.

DFWC’s KPI monitor aggregates satisfaction scores on all aspects of consumers’ visit to duty free shops, weighting them according to their impact on the overall satisfaction. It was compiled through interviews with over 4,000 international travellers across all world regions in June.

Asia Pacific and North America were the only regions to see an increase in the overall satisfaction index.

MIDDLE EAST DECLINE

The Middle East declined by one percentage point. The overall satisfaction level in Asia Pacific stands five points above the Middle East and the global average, which remains stable compared to Q1 this year. Europe and South America also saw no movement on Q1.

The Monitor’s IATA air traffic benchmark shows global year-on-year growth of +8% in international pax numbers to 831m. Asia Pacific again leads growth with an 11% increase versus Q2 2017, compared to +6% for Europe, + 5% for Latin America, + 4% for Africa and + 2% for North America and the Middle East.

Shopping as ‘part of the overall travel experience’ remains the most popular satisfaction driver among global passenger perceptions of duty free shopping with 47% of travellers saying they share the same view. This is an increase of one percentage point from the previous quarter.

The motivation to purchase duty free exclusives, product variety and great gifting opportunities are the second joint highest rated perceptions with 42% of travellers agreeing. Next comes the new products perception which has seen the strongest growth among satisfaction drivers.

While price advantage and value for money in duty free remain the top two reasons for purchasing in duty free shops, the two sets of criteria which have the most impact on passenger satisfaction are value for money followed by uniqueness of products and services.

The non-shopper analysis again highlights the importance of price advantage and value for money. High prices and the lack of motivating promotions are the two main reasons cited by travellers for not purchasing from duty free shops during their last trip.

Three of the top six reasons for not visiting shops also reflect the negative price perception of the duty free offer.