Travel retail technology: Enticing passengers to buy

New technologies will become one of the main tools to attract customers on their journeys to visit retail areas. We talked to Erik Juul-Mortensen, president of the TFWA (Tax Free World Association) about the possibilities that Digital Signage and Omnichannel solutions offer.

Which role does Digital Signage play in the travel retail industry?

Gone are the days when the arrivals and departures boards were the only use for digital signage at airports. The high-street retail industry is already beginning to utilize this opportunity by giving customers a helping hand with the use of virtual mirrors, sizing apps and online ordering systems and of course these technologies have the same resonance in the duty free and travel retail sector.

Many airports are already embracing the advantages of digital signage. Dubai Airport, as just one example, has already started using digital signage with real-time dynamic content that is scheduled for specific airport locations. This means that advertisements can be targeted to specific groups of people in their native language as they disembark or board the planes.

How does the implementation of digital elements in the shopping areas of airports influence customers’ engagement?

Customers are rarely without their smartphones and the temptation to catch up on emails, view social media accounts or scan the news means that there is a huge potential to engage with customers. When it comes to apps suitable for the duty free and travel retail sector, TFWA’s survey found that travelers would favor having one single app that could be used across all airports, rather than having an app for each airport, or an app specifically for their home airport. There is therefore clearly a potential gap in the market for these sorts of products.

Currently there is a lack of apps for duty free and travel retail shopping, and many have restrictions when it comes to their locational or transactional functionality. However, evidently there is an opportunity here to turn passengers’ phones into mini advertising platforms showing targeted advertisements that are of interest to the individual users at a time when they have the time and the inclination to shop that is unique to the airport retail environment.

With the help of Digital Signage, online and offline channels can be connected – is this important for the travel retail industry?

In this digital age, it’s of course becoming increasingly important to reach as many people as possible via online platforms that extend beyond the offline experience. A recent example of the merging of the online and the offline was the ‘Say it With Toblerone’ campaign. This involved dedicated spaces at selected airports where passengers could visit Toblerone branded photo booths, allowing them to share their images on social media with a hashtag. This connected the in-store experience with interaction online to reach a wide audience.