shopper marketing for luxury brands in travel retail

Airports are important for studying the potential of luxury brands and shopper marketing

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Philip SladeT: @pieheadsources & credits at backWHY?

[email protected] where possible all images credited other than authors own. CC on words

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Airports provide unique opportunities to engage shoppers with new ideas

High dwell times, 140mins+

Airport retail design no longer dominated by discount tobacco but led by luxury fashion trends

International travel increases a sense of personal achievement, better attitude for experimentation

Prime shopper mission; gifting, which results in a higher spend per item

Tighter hand baggage control forcing a rethink on tacky gift bag with purchase offers

Growing numbers of passengers from emerging nations keen to acquire luxury brands while travelling

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The environment of airport shopping has changed*

* with the exception of the liquor area, which remains, in general, fixed in traditional dull high street retail norms

Paul Smith London Heathrow Terminal 5


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Bespoke luxury retail environments

Key themes for 2012

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The Johnnie Walker House : Shanghai : lovecreative.com-not actually in an airport but in theme to activity in the more progressive airports building store in stores.


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Key themes for 2012

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The World Class cocktail bar : British Airways Business Lounge : London Heathrow Terminal 5

Location specific experiences


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Retail excellence Status updates Personalised Mix & Match London

Key themes for 2012

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1. Retail excellence. There is an expectation of not only luxury but bespoke shopping experience when travelling. 2. Status updates (remember the first mobiles? 'I'm on a train' has been replaced by 'Facebook -I'm at the airportʼ3. Personalised. Passengers know we have all their data. Won't be surprised if we do something with it4. Mix & Match. Budget airline & boutique hotel or Business class & couch surfing5. London. More passengers want/have to travel to/through than any other global city


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What’s interesting now in 2011

1. Location services

2. In airport Delivery

3. Brand partnerships

4. Random acts of kindness 7

The mainstream take up of location based services like Facebook places and Foursquare in airport is quite low at present but set to change. Benefits such as at gate delivery and linking rewards to check-ins should see greater travel use. I am very interested by the maturing of the pop-up concept and can see the potential for innovation in concourse activity. Finally I have highlighted a superb example of a random act of kindness, but in truth this is also an example of what can be done creatively with the data that exists on all passengers in the public domain


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Location aware

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IMAGESwww.sita.aerowww.silicon.com

Lots happening in the world of location aware apps. Wayfinding within airports being the focus with the aim of not only getting more passengers to the gate on time, but spreading their spending throughout the terminal.

The current test in Copenhagen of a AR based Wayfinding app is interesting. I really like the way it seamlessly links to retailer & brands sites as well as showing you when your flight is due and where the gate is.

Worth noting the rise of online deals linked to location – Groupon was the standard bearer but Facebook have a trial underway at the moment that links your friends buying patterns & location specifics to offer you a deal. Passengers in airports are driven by herd behaviour, groups created by occasion or day of week, intrigue .

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Location aware mobile apps : Lots happening in 2011 my current favourite

TopGuest.comWhat is it? Middleware. An application that sits between location based check-in services & existing loyalty schemes

How does it work? Check-in at specific locations and receive points from loyalty schemes you are already a member of

Opportunity? Partnership with Airline/hotel to reward DF activity

Why is it important? Opens up the possibility of using airline & hotel points as a reward without any on the ground admin

What could it be? Potential for rewarding at all levels; concourse browsing 1pt, Photo of brand 5pt, Fixture purchase 10pt, joint purchase 15pt

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In airport delivery:

What is it? We are beginning to see delivery services to passengers waiting at gate, in bar or lounge.

How does it work? Online to microsite or existing portals. Order and pay, product gets delivered to you

Opportunity? Rich media product story, Trade-up, gifting and access to lounge dwellers

Why is it important? Offers real value to the passenger while at the same time giving us a new touchpoint

What could it be? Personal location aware shopping assistance linked to social media info – remembers birthdays & business events

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Brand partnerships: Liquor & FashionMalibu + Fakebake + GHD + Nails Inc.

What is it? Pop-up pampering zone with bar

How does it work? Engages shoppers with top-up style & pampering goodies with opportunity to sample a Malibu (rum) cocktail

Opportunity? In this case getting shoppers to associate getting ready with a Malibu moment

Why is it important? Getting to the large numbers of shoppers who have already deselected liquor

What could it be? Not only concourse but in-shop activity across other retail outlets with a similar premium value connection

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What is it? One off PR stunt that spread across the web. Turning around the impersonal nature of the airport experience

How does it work? Personalised gifts placed on luggage carousel for passengers on a Christmas eve flight

Opportunity? One off PR event that produces content for both trade and consumers – the unexpected nature of a brand speaking as a human voice

Why is it important? Passengers know we have shed loads of data about them, but all they normally see is poorly targetted sales messages.Kindness in the face of stress (travel) gets you into moments when normal brand messages will just wash over.Keeps thinking fresh and beyond standard shopper marketing touch points

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Random acts of kindness: SPANAIR Unexpected Luggage


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A new direction for shopper [email protected] where possible all images credited other than authors own. CC on words

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Airports provide unique opportunities for cutting edge shopper marketing

Shoppers have the time to engage

They have the aptitude to experiment

They are carrying multiple devices/screens

They are seeking information

There is a lot of their data available

They want to mark their travel with indulgence

They are on a shopping mission to gift

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Unfortunately too much marketing seen in airports takes

the form of lazy price offers, something luxury shoppers from

BRIC nations actively reject


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I am Philip Slade, a Creative Strategist, who still gets way over excited by air travel

Desk research and personal observations;• Sita.aero• Topguest.com• hmshost.com• delta.com• apps.facebook.com/malibutique• spanair.com• Skytrax / Airportquality.com• Moodie Report• Robb Report• Travel Trends Survey• JCDA Luxury Panel

T: @pieheadW: homeslade.com

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