India Retail News

After five years of strong growth, prospects for airport retail in the mid-term remain positive even if forecasting seems to be a risky exercise in this current climate. The author forecasts that duty-free sales will be 6 points above traffic forecasts for the period 2008-2012. Duty-free sales should be one of the key drivers to compensate for the effects of the downturn for airports. To sustain growth and outperform the market in the coming years, airports and operators will need to focus on five key success factors: Developing the density of the retail surface to maximize performance; adapting the offer to reflect the passenger profile; using a range of approaches to convert browsers into buyers, and to increase time spent shopping; extending their price advantage over city-center retailers; and expanding customer target groups to include non-travellers and arrival passengers, and diversifying distribution channels.