Updated: Nov 28, 2022
August 18, 2022
CHRIS BERTHELSON
WISE PRECISION BUSINESS CONSULTING
Your Brand should be in every Airport!
The airport retail business is BIG business!
As enplanements continue to see record growth and more and more airports are positioning themselves as destination locations as opposed to a necessary evil in air travel, retailers and service providers are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on passenger spending. Airports across the US have put their “expansion” plans into high gear as the Covid Pandemic that shut the travel sector down for 2 years has subsided and passenger levels have exceeded Pre-Pandemic levels in most airports.
Why your brand should be in every airport!
Air Travel is Growing! Air travel, while it took a large hit during the COVID-19 era, has recovered rapidly. Before Covid, it was predicted to double in the next 20 years. Even though fuel prices are rising, airlines are bringing on more capacity to meet the demand and keeping ticket prices relatively affordable.
Airport Travelers are a Fit for EVERY Product! Air Travelers are a good target for a lot of brands that are entering the market or expanding. Airport Travelers have a lot of spending power, especially frequent fliers.
Air Travelers are a Captive Audience! When Travelers are in an airport, they have some extra time on their hands. Shopping is a big activity for folks on vacation. Overall, air Travelers are often attuned to noticing and learning about new products.
Airports Can Support Your Omni-Channel Strategy! Whether you’re in snacks, electronics, or fashion you’re likely creating an online and offline strategy (omnichannel). Airports are a great way to promote your brand and present a real opportunity for discovery of your product in the physical world, that you can also leverage online
Airports Have a Guaranteed Future! The major airports in the U.S. and global cities are not going anywhere, and don’t have the challenges facing some physical retail locations and shopping malls due to the rise of eCommerce. The rapid recovery of travel shows how much people need to, and love to, travel. Air travel and airports are a part of everyone’s future.
There are Some Challenges!
Employee Challenges! Because of the airport “Badging” process, complicated access (parking and shuttling), and location of airports (often of urban areas), the pool of willing employees is small. Retailers and airports must plan, be creative, and deliberate to overcome these challenges and offer an attractive package for employees.
Logistics & Supply Chain! Scheduling is often based on flight schedules. Getting your goods to and from a store might be a challenge due to security regulations. Your supply chain management is often based on times and days the airport authority will allow it. Delayed or cancelled flights could put a business at a loss for the day. Flight patterns and passenger patterns change. Your business needs to have someone on the ground and in the loop every day to adjust.
Governing Entities! There are different governing entities such as port authorities, concession management companies, airlines, or city governments that could run the terminal (s) your stores are in. On top of the hierarchy of authority within your brand–it gets complicated when there are various entities to which you report.
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Ready to chat about your retail business schedule your free consultation HERE WITH CHRIS!
Do you have questions? You can email us info@wiseconsulting.biz
Special thanks to our friends at TRBIZZ Travel Retail Agency & Consultancy for being such a great partner and allowing us to guest write on their platforms! If you have a brand or retail business idea and want to get into the travel retail sector including airports they are the perfect fit for you!
Thank you for following us and reading what gets us excited! We love to share what we can!
Chris Berthelson
Founder/Consultant WP Business Consulting
info@wiseconsulting.biz
