High Flyers Column
High Flyers: ARI’s Deirdre Devaney on reimagining the ‘beauty experience in travel retail’
The beauty industry is in a constant state of flux, and the pandemic has only encouraged the need for change. For travel retailers, this raises a pressing question: how can they elevate the beauty category and convert passengers into shoppers? In this column, ARI Global Head of Beauty Deirdre Devaney shares insights on the changing face of beauty in travel retail and delivering new experiences within the channel.
The only constant in beauty is change and never more so than now. Over the past few years, as an industry we have been forced by the pandemic to re-evaluate everything we do. During this time technology has accelerated the industry, both online and offline, at an unprecedented pace. Connectivity and convenience are key, with many retailers and brands tapping into on-demand apps as well as social commerce.
What is our role as travel retailers and how can we enhance the travel journey? How can we compel passengers to become shoppers? Are we equipped to do so?
Customers want to shop on their terms – they have new needs and expectations, and there have been both positive and negative fluctuations in spending power. The mid-market price point also remains a challenge and overall, we know that the category is still performing behind 2019 levels (based on the European Travel Retail Confederation Index, 2022 review).
ARI Global Head of Beauty Deirdre Devaney
We’ve seen how the domestic (downtown) markets have adapted, but how has this translated into travel retail? How do we partner with our suppliers to ensure that the customer experience in travel retail keeps pace with that of the best-in-class on the domestic market?
If we look at the domestic market, two models have emerged as the frontrunners in terms of providing customers with the new retail experiences they crave. Firstly, we’ve seen a rise of luxury and independent boutiques offering an immersive and premium brand experience. Secondly, we can see the success of the multi-retailer experience where customers can shop an extensive range of brands and products under one roof. Let’s not forget the tailored and personalised experiences facilitated by retail loyalty schemes and online shopping.
Partnering with Dior for a memorable experience at Montreal Airport
When we boil it down, what customers want is an immersive experience coupled with exceptional range, choice and value.
Our role as travel retailers must be to take the best of the downtown retail experience and translate that into the unique, and often more challenging, travel retail environment. And by ‘challenging’ I am referencing the space confines we often have in the physical store. This is coupled with the fact that we need to work harder to make a sale – remembering that travel is the passenger’s primary objective, shopping and all else fall secondary.
“It’s time to reimagine the beauty experience in travel retail – ensuring it’s functional yet inspiring, familiar yet distinctive”
Our category strategy is evolving to ensure that we have a world-class and bespoke retail proposition for our passengers across each of our locations. It is built around the fundamental pillars of People, Product, Service, Environment and Technology. We strive to channel the successes of domestic marketing into a fit-for-purpose travel retail experience.
I firmly believe that now is the time to reimagine the beauty experience in travel retail, while keeping those fundamentals at the core. On a recent ‘retail safari’ to London, I was amazed to see a melting pot of modern retail at the Battersea Power Station, which blended multi-retailer offerings with independent boutiques against an authentic, historic backdrop. What struck me most was how distinctive and memorable the retail experience was – and it’s exactly what we should be striving for in our stores.
An impressive showcase for beauty at Riyadh Airport
With all this in mind, here are my non-negotiables when it comes to maximising opportunity and future-proofing the Perfumes & Cosmetics category:
- Understanding the customer: Everything begins and ends with the customer, and so we invest heavily in consumer research at ARI. We paint a profile of the various passengers that travel through each of our locations so we can curate a bespoke range to meet specific needs. In a sense we are a niche operator, and you will never find the exact same range in any two of our stores. We focus on the detail more than most others, and this all stems from knowing exactly who our customers are and our role in enhancing their journey.
- Being dynamic: Beauty is a fast-moving category, and typically the customer experience in travel retail doesn’t maintain pace with downtown retail. The pandemic taught us all a lesson on the importance of agility. We need to be able to quickly adapt to evolving customer needs, new products and emerging trends.
- Exploring cross-category opportunities: This is relatively underutilised in travel retail but offers so much potential – particularly when it comes to luxury brands. From a retailer’s point of view, it allows us to maximise space and create a brand boutique feel within the store. That in turn creates a more immersive brand experience for customers.
- Embracing digital: Digital allows us to bring the travel retail experience outside the walls of the airport – the so-called ‘endless aisle’ and always-on retail. We can create a more tailored shopping experience by utilising technology to learn more about our shoppers’ behaviours. We can also encourage trial and newness before the customer steps inside the airport. We work closely with our brand partners to introduce online exclusives, first-to-market products and experiences, and enabling tools like a virtual try-on.
- Creating a distinct experience: Travel creates an optimal scenario for brand discovery and by working with our brand partners we aim to deploy highly immersive experiences into our shops. Its execution covers everything from store design to product range and exclusive services. Sense of Place plays a crucial role here, both in terms of the physical store design and the product and brand range. It creates a retail experience that’s distinguishable, and we must avoid the ‘shop in a box’ approach at all costs. Having the best range and value offers gives customers a compelling reason to shop in the travel retail channel versus downtown. We are always cognisant of striking the right balance between invigorating our range with newness and having the brands we know our customers love.
Power brands such as Jo Malone and Armani elevate the environment in Cyprus
As we look to strengthen our category strategy for the entire business, we are bringing all these elements into action this year with some exciting new store openings and refurbishments. The new beauty experience at Abu Dhabi International Airport will be like nothing customers have experienced before, with 1,800sq m of beauty. The store will reflect the local environment and will be home to exclusive ranges and experiences, as well as many first-to-region brands. We’re incredibly excited to unveil this truly special offering.
Work is also underway at airports in Portugal – the first will be Lisbon Duty Free with a phenomenal new beauty experience, which is currently under development. Here, we’ll offer passengers a carefully curated edit of brands and products unlike anything they can find downtown, supported by exceptional service within a stunning new retail space.
It’s time to reimagine the beauty experience in travel retail – ensuring it’s functional yet inspiring, familiar yet distinctive. We need to remain relevant against the competitive backdrop of downtown and online retail, and we need to continue to offer passengers a compelling reason to shop in our stores.
#joyonyourway
Beauty is along the star performers in the eye-catching retail zone at Bahrain Duty Free
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The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 325 | 2 August 2023
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