Classic walk-through duty free remains a popular retail option at the airport, with 60% of travellers saying they wanted to see more of it, according to recent research by Airport Dimensions.

It’s just one of the insights revealed in the second tranche of findings from its latest Airport Experience Research which, says the company, serves to underscore how the airport retail environment has evolved and that travellers are open to new experiences.

A notable desire for new retail options was also pinpointed in the findings, with 54% keen to see more showrooms to test products and the same number of passengers saying they want more automated retail and vending machines.

Further to this, 55% of travellers would like more retail opportunities in the lounge and 62% wanted to be able to shop online with delivery options to their homes, destination, or their flight.

Generally speaking, premium shopping and dining options came out on top as the areas in which travellers want to spend their money while at the terminal, with 20% and 16% of discretionary spend from travellers assigned there respectively.

“Our research underscores the importance of getting foundational elements of the airport experience right,” said Mignon Buckingham, CEO of Airport Dimensions.

“But beyond this, travellers are open to new offers and services and want to spend in new ways.

“Providing seamless, end-to-end digital journeys are a solution to dramatically improve the airport experience and better appeal to today’s traveller.

“Too much spending is motivated by impulse, and to maximise revenue, airports must do more to promote pre-booking of services.”

As a case in point, gaming facilities are pre-booked by 26% and booked on the day by 35%, while wellness facilities similarly see pre-booking from 32% and on the day bookings by 41% of travellers.

Those who took part in the research said they are willing to commit more than a fifth (21%) of their spend to new experiences such as sleep pods, gaming and wellness.

Notably, more than half of travellers (59%) stated that they would prefer to see retail space freed up to offer more space to other facilities at the airport – an increase of 2% since last year.

However, this is in contrast to the 7% of travellers (an increase from 5% last year) who said this would negatively impact their journeys.

The Airport Dimensions Changing Airport Experience survey was conducted in partnership with market research agency Dynata.

It draws upon the experiences of more than 8,500 air travellers covering a wide and representative cross-section of demographics.

Watch our recent video with Mignon Buckingham, who shares how Airport Dimensions is innovating beyond airport lounges into other top physical experiences in the ‘sleep, gaming and spa’ space.