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The www.runwaydutyfree.ca site will drive awareness of the in-store offer, and carries a pre-order element |
INTERNATIONAL. Aer Rianta International (ARI) has launched www.runwaydutyfree.ca, the first in a series of new business-to-consumer websites developed to promote the group’s duty free businesses, from North America to Russia/CIS.
The first site promotes Montréal Duty Free, and will soon be followed by separate websites for the company’s operations in Barbados (to go live in April), Russia and Ukraine (likely to go live in Q2). Each site has been designed separately to reflect the local duty free environment, but the navigation and user experience will be broadly similar across all the sites, said ARI.
The www.runwaydutyfree.ca site appears in both French and English. The company’s Russian and Ukrainian websites will also be multilingual.
ARI said: “The move marks the culmination of a six-month-long project to develop a compelling online proposition for our customers.”
The Montréal Duty Free website showcases a selection of the bestselling products and also highlights the price savings that are on offer in the duty free in comparison to downtown retail prices, noted ARI. “This should help to convince passengers of the exceptional value available in duty free and also encourage them to allow a little extra time for shopping on their departure day,” the company added.
Passengers can also pre-order their duty free on the site and then collect and pay for it at the airport.
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ARI expects its online presence to boost its duty free business at Montréal Trudeau Airport |
The retailer said: “By getting a passenger to commit to a purchase in advance, it avoids the myriad reasons (security delays, not in the mood, hungry, work calls and e-mails, anxious to get to their gate, minding their kids etc.) why someone might not shop at an airport. Furthermore because they have to go into the shop to collect their pre-orders there is also an increased likelihood that they will make some additional impulse purchases.”
Within several months the company plans to move to a full pre-payment model in Canada through which customers can pay online and then collect their purchases at the airport. Russian and Ukrainian customers will have the option of generating a ‘product wish list’ on the websites that can be printed off or e-mailed to friends and family members who are travelling.
ARI North America & Caribbean Regional Manager Philip Eckles said: “Nowadays practically everything associated with air travel can be arranged online – flights, check-in, parking, hotel reservations, car hire and transfers. So it is essential for travel retailers to develop a web presence.
“By providing airline passengers with an engaging online duty free experience we are confident that they will spend more time planning their duty free [shopping] and, by extension, spend more money in our stores.”
Note: The Moodie Report has just released The Moodie 100, a comprehensive survey of 100 business-to-consumer travel retail-related websites. The Moodie 100 is available for €375. In order to purchase a copy and to request further information, please contact Jessica Lana at Jessica.Lana@TheMoodieReport.com
