Jet setters and on-the-go shoppers are driving the business at train stations and airports. Retail outlets are targeting these busy travelers and are seeing sales increase from doing so. Despite the overall downturn of luxury sales, there is still a steady upturn in these locations for these on the go big-spenders. “There is a switch from destination retail to shopping on the way to doing something else: work, holiday, business trip. It’s about squeezing it in to our hectic lifestyles,” said Ben Perkins, consumer expert at consultants Deloitte.
“Be in travel if you want to be a global brand,” said Manel Jadraque, managing director of Desigual, which has helped its colourful garments gain a wider following by opening stores in top airports, hotels, resorts, ports and train stations. Wise words from a fashion house in the days where many big brands are seeing loss of sales by not trying to change their ways or expand to new horizons. Laurence Anne Parent, managing partner at Advancy strategy consultants, claims “nearly 50 percent intend to purchase while waiting to take a plane or a train. Those people are international, they are captive, they have two or three hours to kill.”
It doesn’t stop with high end fashion or retail outlets, even supermarkets are trying new approaches and opening convenience stores or on-the-go locations in stations because customers are now shopping more frequently during the week with small sales, rather than large weekly shopping at out of town stores. Tesco and Amazon are prime examples others that are trying out “pick-up lockers” and vans for online customers at 42 London Underground stations. Benefit, a makeup brand widely sold in department stores, is even trying to break into the travel-shopping world by installing vending machines with their makeup products in airports. Genious! This new phase of retail is fresh and exciting and just makes sense. We’ll see what comes next.
http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/trends-analysis/airports-stations-provide-captive-market-for-retailers-8062729?module=retail-news-trends-analysis-hero
