Sense of Place

A clear Sense of Place will continue to be key to converting passengers to shoppers in travel retail. Nestlé says that food can “most definitely champion this best by combining local specialities with in-store theatre to create authentic experiences to tap into this core shopper purchase driver”. Retailers and airports are actively seeking to showcase the best of locally produced goods, unique to their location - a powerful motivator to purchase. As previously stated this can also play on and enhance the sustainability credentials of airports and retailers. For this reason airports are open to collaborations that can simultaneously support Sense of Place and sustainability objectives. There is nothing more local than food, notes the company. It is central to delivering Sense of Place and enabling the shopper to recreate holiday memories. Dryburgh says: “We are currently conducting global consumer research with key nationalities; the purpose is to understand if specific sub-categories are relevant, either personally or as gift, and will create incremental sales. What we will then do is work with key retail partners to merge this understanding with their knowledge of local offerings, allied to industry information on travel patterns to create a full food category offer blending the best of local foods, global brands plus our category’s traditional beating heart, confectionery.”