Air traffic in the Middle East & Africa is set to increase rapidly over the next 12 months to November 2020, with 5.4% projected growth, well ahead of the global average, which is forecast to grow by only 1.4% over the same period, says m1nd-set (data sourced from the B1S-IATA DDS database).

 

Over the past 12 months, growth has been more robust in Africa than in the Middle East, but over the next 12 months the trend reverses.

 

This report coincides with another – focused on the African continent and commissioned by TFWA – which has been shared at this year’s MEADFA conference, taking place in Oman this week.

 

M1nd-set CEO & owner Peter Mohn and Project/Business Development Manager, Anna Marchesini presented the exclusive shopper insights on African travellers.

 

While the exclusive MEADFA conference report will focus exclusively on the continent of Africa with both traffic data and forecast as well as shopper behaviour insights this latest regional report goes beyond to look at both sub-region’s shopper behaviour.

 

STRONG POTENTIAL FOR HEALTHY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The report, produced with data from m1nd-set’s Business 1ntelligence Service (B1S), provides context for growth in the region, focusing on the various macro trends that are underpinning the region’s strong potential for healthy future development.

 

These include population growth, geographical location at the crossroads of east and west, changing demographics of travellers to and from the region, and strong projected growth of international arrivals to the region.

 

As reported exclusively by TRBusiness in the latest edition of its ‘M1nd-set: Five things you need to know’ series, almost a quarter of DF&TR shoppers from the Middle East plan their purchases specifically; meaning that the have the exact product or brand in mind before buying.

 

The report details the key behavioural trends among shoppers from the Middle East and Africa when travelling through international airports.

 

FOOTFALL, PURCHASE & CONVERSION RATES ‘ABOVE AVERAGE’

“Footfall, purchase and conversion rates are also above average, all indicating strong performance in the Middle East and Africa,” says m1nd-set.

 

More than 4 out of 10 passengers visit the duty free shops, around one third of whom make a purchase, resulting in a conversion rate of 70%, compared to the global average of 60%.

 

“The performance is even higher (79%) if we isolate just the millennial shoppers,” adds m1nd-set.

 

Other interesting findings include differences in the reasons to visit shops and reasons to purchase. ‘Gifting’, ‘price advantage’ and ‘browsing around’ count among the top three reasons to visit, while ‘convenience’, ‘good value for money’ and ‘clear price advantage’ are said to be the main reasons for purchasing.

The top categories purchased by shoppers from the Middle East and Africa are perfumes, confectionery and souvenirs/gifts. Shoppers from the Middle East and Africa buy perfumes significantly more than shoppers from any other region; 43% purchase perfumes, significantly more than the global average; 28%.

 

GREATER DIVERSITY IN SHOPPER DEMOGRAPHICS

Shoppers from the Middle East and Africa are also above average confectionery buyers (32% vs 30%). Again, the percentages are significantly higher when specifically analysing millennials.

 

“While the region has traditionally catered to mostly business and leisure travellers from developed economies, the future demographic profile of international travellers will inevitably be significantly more diverse, both in terms of age and culture” explained m1nd-set Owner and CEO Peter Mohn.

 

“This latest regional report provides excellent material for frontline duty free sales staff to better understand the shoppers’ mind-set and adapt their sales approach.

 

“Airport specific insights we have conducted for certain clients enable the store associates to understand the various segments – both demographics and m1nd-set’s unique customer segments – and how they shop at the very stores they work in.”

 

“Sales advisors can adapt their sales approach individually to each customer with in depth knowledge of their browsing and shopping behaviour when airport specific shopper insights.”