3Sixty Duty Free eyes strong 2024 amid surge in US airport tenders

By Faye Bartle | Wednesday, 17 April 2024 17:45

Alex Anson, Chief Operating Officer at 3Sixty Duty Free, reports strong double-digit growth for the omni-channel travel retailer in 2023, with airports creeping up to and even exceeding 2019 passenger benchmarks.

This year, he is confident of another strong performance across the business.

In a wide-ranging video interview, Anson said: “When we look at traffic at airports, it is still a positive evolution and in many cases we’re already at 2019 levels or above. We also have a presence in cruise terminals and that traffic has been very strong.”

While acknowledging the benefits of a strengthening US economy and cooling inflation, steep price increases have led to a softening in spending, notably in spirits, P&C and luxury, as consumers’ discretionary purchasing comes under pressure.

“How that traffic will transcend into spend still remains to be seen,” he stated. “We’re balancing the higher traffic with moderated ticket pricing and consumer sentiment that is relatively positive, but still constrained given the inflationary impacts, and that is coming through in the spending profile.”

Hit play to learn more, including the latest on 3Sixty’s new retail operations at Ontario International Airport T2 and its plan for upgrading the duty free footprint at Matecaña International Airport in Colombia.