A changing customer base offers fresh opportunities for retailers to rethink category strategy, argued Brennan.

The 2026 TR Consumer Forum’s first Over to You – Live session provided a platform for speakers to share their passion for fresh ideas and strategies to drive the industry. Today it was about travel essentials.

Day 1 saw respected industry veteran Alan Brennan, Global Commercial Director, Travel Blue, step up, bringing a perspective built on a remarkable 25-year career across categories and regions.

Brennan believes that travel retail’s changing customer base is creating fresh opportunities for retailers willing to rethink category strategy – and he is emphatic that essentials are uniquely positioned to attract the next generation of airport shoppers and drive stronger commercial performance.

As traveller expectations evolve, Brennan highlighted the category’s universal appeal and highly impulsive nature, making it an effective tool for increasing store traffic, improving conversion and encouraging larger basket sizes. Rather than being viewed as a convenience purchase, he insisted that travel essentials should be recognised as a strategic category that supports wider retail growth.

Gen Z will soon be the main traveller profile

“By 2028 – just two years away – Gen Z will become the dominant profile in duty free, comprising over 30% of global traffic”, Brennan said, adding that “Gen Z arrive earlier for their flight, they have a desire for a real brand experience… but we mustn’t forget that value is still important to them.” Brennan added the caveat that the Gen Z attention span is relatively short – around just 90 seconds – making it even more challenging to reach and convince them.

Brennan: “Gen Z arrive earlier for their flight and have a desire for a real brand experience”.

Brennan then outlined the main motivations for travel essentials purchases – including the last-minute purchase of a charger or accessory the traveller forgot to pack – with 75% of purchases on impulse.  He emphasised that travel essentials ‘talk’ to every traveller profile, with self-purchase on impulse making the category one of the most impulsive in travel retail.

Buyers of essentials also go on to make further cross-category purchases, raising basket levels. He was confident that this spending behaviour suggests a big opportunity to increase footfall into the store, drive penetration and product engagement, inspiring greater purchases in the store.

Should travel essentials have a higher profile?

Clearly passionate about the category, Brennan said that travel essentials should no longer be a footnote in the industry’s story – rather, it should be there at the start of it, and he is convinced that Gen Z can be reached by “a category which has been hidden in plain sight.”

Brennan’s session then examined how data-led category management can unlock greater footfall and maximise sales by better aligning product ranges with changing shopper behaviour. With retailers facing increasing pressure to boost profitability, Brennan’s message was clear: essentials can play a much bigger role in driving revenue, helping stores engage more travellers and convert visits into higher-value purchases throughout the airport retail journey.