In-terminal Shopping Growth Demonstrates Omni-Channel Opportunity
By Hannah Ash, contributing writer
A trend toward more in-terminal shopping is on the horizon: the nation’s two busiest airports are turning up the heat on in-terminal shopping.
Last year at Chicago O’Hare’s international terminal, passengers spent a total of $18.90 per person in shopping and concession sales, the highest amount ever spent per person at the terminal. This year, the international terminal has undergone a $26 million dollar overhaul to transform the terminal into an in-transit shopping mall. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest, has been steadily boosting its shopping options over the past three years; the airport will have opened 152 new dining and shopping outlets by the end of 2014. According to Hartsfield-Jackson deputy general manager Balram Bheodari, "When you move 95 million people through the airport, people spend a lot of money. They're consumers at the end of the day.”
Once the expansion in Atlanta is complete, the airport will offer among the highest amount of concession options of any in the world. “Once you attract them [passengers], you get them to spend dollars. It has to be competitive to an upscale mall,” Bheodari comments. The international terminal at Chicago O’Hare will feature Michael Kors and Emporio Armani retail outlets in addition to a 10,000 square foot duty-free shopping zone that is being modeled after the city’s high-end Magnificent Mile shopping district. In London, Heathrow Airport has revamped its Terminal 5, opening on June 4, 2014, to include a personalized shopping lounge in which, “trained stylists will present a curated range of products for each client.”
As airports add more opportunities for shopping to attract more sales and customers, retail tech company NCR, manufacturer of retail POS software, sees the potential in-terminal omni-channel expansion. Industry insider with Skift, a global travel intelligence company, Marissa Garcia comments, “passengers will likely spend more, but many of them will appreciate this as long as its seamless.” Earlier this month, NCR published the results of its Travel Experience Survey; the results show that 47 percent of American respondents reported they were likely to make a purchase at an airport prior to boarding; digital signage in the airport that promotes a coupon or deal would make 22 percent of American respondents more likely to make an associate purchase. According to the report, a coupon printed on the back of a boarding pass would make American respondents 48 percent more likely to make a purchase from the associated retail outlet. The NCR survey data indicates that when applied in the context of American air travel, increased technology can increase sales for retailers.