Travel retail’s tech transformation

Zermatten – whose company is a leading retail marketing, brand experience and consumer engagement agency – urged a customer-centric approach which marries digital targeting and communication with physical retail experiences across the entire shopper journey. He said: “If you focus on the people, rather than the channel, you come up with an overarching concept [featuring both digital and physical elements] that’s going to be the backbone of the conversation you will have with your customers.” On the use of digital in this strategy, he said: “Reaching and targeting customers and getting them into your brand world is a lot easier done online, with all of the data that we have available, all of the social media and all of the different digital marketing means at our disposal.”

With this as a starting point, companies can plan a content strategy to be delivered at each of the touchpoints in the shopper’s journey, including travel retail. Zermatten added that while digital shopping has risen in importance as a means of convenience and to complete “the mission of replenishment”, physical travel retail has a key role to play in what he describes as the brand or product “discovery mission”. But, he stressed, using digital means to drive footfall into travel retail stores and personalise the experience is crucial.

Laurence Ouaknine – whose app-based technology trains the front line staff of major brand owners including Estée Lauder – explained that the use of digital methods to provide training is vital to maximise basket size and conversion rate in travel retail in the COVID-19 era. She said: “Recently more and more companies have decided to train front-liners with app-based e-learning because it’s very convenient in their day to day duties, and at the same time, it’s very scalable and effective. Also, the cost is low which is obviously very important at this time. “Through our app we can identify performance and knowledge gaps and push the relevant training, engaging people to create a community of learners and to make them closer to the brand than ever. It can also be used record their performance and at the same time to connect and communicate internationally. “The front-liners are representing your brand and your store network, and they have to be in the core of your strategy. It is a prerequisite that people are fully trained in order to leverage the five senses [in the travel retail environment].” Ouaknine also acknowledged the rise of livestreaming in travel retail and added that app-based e-learning has a key role play here too. She said: “Livestreaming is a great tool [to generate beauty brand sales] but it is very important that brands and retailers use e-learning to turn their brand ambassadors and front line staff [who are presenting livestreams] into KOLs. They learn how to promote a brand’s products and present it well in livestream.”