Kate Hardcastle (left) in conversation with Faye Bartle from TRBusiness.

The TR Consumer Forum launched Day 2 in Geneva with a keynote presentation on driving global travel retail (GTR) spending from one of the most authoritative voices on consumer behaviour.

Internationally known as ‘The Customer Whisperer’ and author of The Science of Shopping, Kate Hardcastle MBE delivered an engaging and informed keynote presentation focusing on the future of consumer behaviour, trust and retail performance in travel environments. This was followed by a fireside chat with Faye Bartle, Editorial Director, TRBusiness.

Drawing on nearly three decades of experience advising global brands, Hardcastle’s advice to travel retail was summed up in a single word: joy. Clearly passionate about this issue, she called for travel retail to create consumer joy and drive purchases through an authentic, human experience that combines seamless digital/physical connections that transmit authenticity and trust. The result? Joyful moments for the shopper.

Her keynote challenged the industry, urging stakeholders to move beyond the “copy-paste” mentality that has long dominated many retail sectors. The future of travel retail lies not in shouting the loudest but in fostering authenticity, trust, and genuine human connection.

Getting emotional

Hardcastle opened by examining the traditional view of the consumer journey, emphasising that purchase decisions are rarely as linear as data dashboards suggest. She highlighted the “emotional dichotomy” that governs spending, noting that consumers often draw an invisible line in their minds, regardless of the retail theatre they encounter: “It’s not just on the considered purchases; it’s every single purchase, every single moment of the day.”

Hardcastle warned that relying solely on data patterns is not enough.

Hardcastle warned retailers that relying solely on data patterns is insufficient. To truly understand the consumer, retailers must map their emotional journey, identifying both touchpoints and friction points: “You can’t just work on what you think they’re going to do, what someone else has told you they’re going to do, or what the data tells you is going to happen because that’s the pattern,” she said.

Finding ways forward

She also warned of the danger of imitation. In a competitive landscape, brands often default to similar strategies, assuming that what works for one brand will work for another. Hardcastle argued that this approach is increasingly obvious to today’s consumer: “We’ve lived in a copy-paste world for a long time, and it doesn’t work well,” she said.

“Consumers can sniff through it straight away… I think it’s time to collaborate, find ways forward together,” she added. By pooling expertise and resources, travel retail can navigate the complexities of the modern market more effectively.

Hardcastle walks the retail talk.

As the industry struggles to cope with a surging wave of content and the rise of social commerce, Hardcastle believes that consumers are increasingly experiencing ‘digital distress’. She also pointed out that the commercial advantage is shifting: “So, if the commercial advantage is shifting from reach toward the precise moment a decision is made, we have to be aware, evolve, and we have to be impacting on so many of the places on the journey.”

On the issue of authenticity and trust, in a landscape where consumers are bombarded with thousands of messages daily, brands that prioritise respectful, two-way engagement will be the ones to break through. She noted that this is particularly relevant in the travel retail environment, where the captive audience offers a unique opportunity to create moments of joy rather than just transactional exchanges.

A place to be

Addressing the specific challenges of travel retail, Hardcastle challenged the clumsy debate of whether airports should be “retail destinations” or “transport hubs”, preferring a more holistic vision: airports should be “a place to be”. Then, reflecting her own experiences as a traveller “50 weeks of the year”, she cautioned against the “black screen of doom” – the over-reliance on digital signage that often fails or feels soulless – and advocated for a return to tangible, tactile experiences. The goal, she emphasised, is to create seamless digital and physical connections that prioritise the human element.

Hardcastle’s ‘Buyerarchy of Needs’ is a useful guide to what matters most to shoppers.

In closing, Hardcastle was emphatic on the most emotional element of GTR: the future of retail is human. Whether it is through strategic partnerships, a deeper understanding of the emotional drivers behind self-gifting, or simply ensuring that staff are present and engaged rather than hidden behind screens, the industry needs to adjust its mindset to achieve future growth.

Hardcastle closed by calling for delegates to stop watching and learning from competitors and start leading through collaboration and empathy. In a faster-moving world, the brands that win will be those that can define their values, invest wisely, and, above all, deliver an experience built on just one word – joy!