INTERNATIONAL. A widening gap between Asia Pacific and other world regions is developing in terms of customers’ overall satisfaction with the duty free shopping experience.
That’s according to the Duty Free World Council’s (DFWC) KPI Monitor for the third quarter of 2017, compiled by m1nd-set.
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Asia Pacific climbed a further two points in the report’s ‘Customer Satisfaction Index’, taking the region three points ahead of the global average and four points above the second best rated region, the Middle East and Africa (which was up one percentage point).
There was no change in the overall satisfaction index for Europe or North America, but South America saw a two-point decline in its rating. DFWC attributed this decrease to negative price perception among shoppers.
The latest KPI Monitor showed that duty free shops are a ‘great place to try new brands’ and ‘find exclusive and unique products’, factors which are the main drivers of shopper satisfaction. Both have consistently grown in importance among survey respondents over the past four quarters, with 29% and 28% respectively of shoppers interviewed sharing these views.
Shopping in duty free is also increasingly perceived as ‘part of the travel experience’, according to the study. Some 45% of shoppers now share this view, compared to 44% in the previous quarter.
The duty free shopping channel is becoming positively perceived for its provision of gifting solutions with 40% of shoppers now expressing the view that is it ‘a great place to buy gifts’. Some 37% of shoppers say they purchase in duty free for gifting, compared to 48% who say they shop for themselves. The remaining 15% either shop to share or on request.
DFWC noted that a decline in duty free’s positive price perception rating was a cause for concern. The statement that ‘prices are usually cheaper’ in duty free shops has dropped consistently over the past four quarters and is now shared by less than a quarter (24%) of shoppers globally.
“With price advantage and value for money still among the top two reasons for purchasing in duty free shops, expressed by 35% and 34% of shoppers respectively, it is important duty free retains a positive price perception among shoppers,” the organisation said.
Convenience is often quoted among shoppers as one of the main reasons for purchasing in duty free shops, DFWC said. In the Q3 KPI Monitor it is the third most popular motivation for purchasing in duty free. The availability of unique products is equally as important, with 25% of shoppers stating ‘they can find products they won’t find at home’.
The report was compiled from m1nd-set interviews with over 4,000 travellers at airports across all major world regions during the third quarter of 2017.
