The importance of travel retail exclusives is emphasised in the latest Duty Free World Council (DFWC) quarterly KPI Monitor.

This was compiled through interviews with over 4,000 international travellers across the world during December 2018 by Swiss research and consultancy agency m1nd-set.

The report also includes global air traffic data, which shows robust year-on-year increases. Traffic rose +7.4% globally with Africa (+10%) and Europe (+8.4%) showing above average increases on Q4 2017.

According to the Q4 2018 report, the number of global shoppers more motivated to buy exclusive items in duty free shops was up 2% compared to the previous quarter, with 45% of shoppers agreeing with the statement.

IMPROVED RATINGS

International travellers’ perception of duty free shopping also reveals improved ratings for duty free shops as ‘a great place to try new brands’, to enjoy a ‘truly different experience’ and to find ‘exclusive and new products’.

The overall customer satisfaction index shows a global increase of two points on Q3 2018, with the highest increase in Asia Pacific (+2), which is also the best performing region. Europe and South America report a one-point increase in the global index. The Middle East and North America show no change.

The importance of exclusives is further underlined by the increasingly positive perception about the variety of products and how this makes duty free shops ‘a great place for shopping’. This perception gained +2% versus the 2018 Q3 Monitor.

Key reasons after price advantage and value for money for buying in duty free shops are because the products are ‘not found at home’ and ‘different from usual.’

‘No duty free exclusives’ also moved into the top-five reasons for not purchasing in duty free shops in the last quarterly report.

Frank O’Connell, DFWC President commented” “The time of year is clearly a contributing factor to the importance of exclusives, with brands and retailers pushing the exclusives and travel retail exclusive gift offers during the festive season.

“For both western travellers for Christmas and Chinese travellers purchasing ahead of the Chinese New Year period, travel retail exclusives are key purchase drivers at this time of year.

“If we look at the impact of the qualitative aspects on the overall perception of the duty free shopping experience as well as value for money, we see that ‘uniqueness of products /services’ is the second most impactful aspect on the satisfaction levels among global duty free shoppers.”

Peter Mohn, CEO & Owner, M1nd-set added: “It is vital for brands and retailers to offer a clear price advantage in duty free shops as this is what customers look for first and foremost. Uncompetitive prices remain the main barrier to visiting and purchasing in the channel.

“However, there are increasingly important expectations around the uniqueness of the offering and experience. A growing number of duty free shoppers are buying products which they have never bought before or which are unique and exclusive to duty free.”