In this guest column, Lindt & Sprüngli Head of Global Travel Retail Peter Zehnder underscores the power of gifting in travel retail, outlines its category vision and explores the biggest trends influencing the recovery of the confectionery category.
Our industry has been faced with a wealth of data and opinion on how shopper behaviour and purchasing dynamics changed during the global pandemic crisis. At the time it was difficult to know what shifts were short-term responses to an unprecedented situation and what changes would be longer-term.
Now, several years on, we are able to more confidently identify what has truly changed on how the travelling consumer interacts with the duty free offer.
One of the short-term changes that was seen was a small decline in gifting during the pandemic, with fewer people visiting family and friends due to travel restrictions. Many other factors could have also influenced this, but it has been gratifying from Lindt’s perspective, while not surprising, to see this pillar of travel retail spend quickly bouncing back.
Gifting remains part of the fabric of travel, part of the DNA of travel retail and, in confectionery, one of the key drivers. Lindt’s POLARIS study, which to date encompasses insight from over 100,000 consumers around the globe, shows just how crucial gifting is in our channel. The value of gifting in travel retail is double that of domestic markets. This shows very clearly that the impulse to gift and the opportunities to fulfil that need in our channel are significant.
So, what accounts for this skew towards gifting in our channel? One key takeaway from the same POLARIS study was that travel retail is the channel of year-round gifting. Yes, we do see peaks in gifting around certain key festive occasions but these are far less pronounced in travel retail.
Rather than gifting being driven by seasonality, it is driven by something far simpler – showing someone (friend, family, colleague) that you care about them at any time of year.
There is also an element of convenience in travel retail that plays to gifting. For example, our stores may be the only opportunity for a rushed business traveller has to pick up something for their loved ones or a client. Equally, someone on a packed holiday itinerary may well know that the airport will be the easiest place to purchase a gift that won’t need to be transported during the trip. Self-indulgence or consumption can sometimes wait, but often there is a strong compulsion towards gifting: we want and need to do it.
With this in mind, building out a strong gifting offer is paramount to tapping into this opportunity. At Lindt, we are fortunate to have brands that are instantly-recognisable in the gifting segment. Our strategy is to leverage the cherished status of brands such as Lindor and harness the inclusivity and accessibility of premium chocolate to ensure we deliver gifting options that tick all the boxes when it comes to quality perception, clear gifting cues and personalisation.
Our recent category-first activation at London Heathrow T4 demonstrated our belief in the power of gifting and confectionery’s special position within this segment. Centred on the popular Lindor truffles, we ensured that gifting cues were clearly visible to shoppers in the surrounding airport and retail space, with the slogan ‘Bring Home the Gift of Bliss’ providing a direct emotional appeal. Our Lindt Master Chocolatier was also on hand to deliver additional retail theatre, photo opportunities and live sampling.
Personalisation mechanics at the promotional site included gift wrapping and cards, with messages such as ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Best Wishes’, ‘For You’ and ‘Thought of You’. Shoppers were also encouraged to add their personal wishes. The gifting ritual was further enhanced with a printed Lindt ribbon, gift wrap and an exclusive carrier bag. These little touches are essential and truly elevate the gifting experience.
Looking forward, there are major opportunities to drive further growth through gifting. In particular, the return of Asian shoppers to travel retail, with that region’s recovery accelerating, is very welcome. We know that these shoppers love to purchase for others and that gifting is on the rise in this region. Expect personalisation and Sense of Place to be particularly sought after by Asian shoppers, including the Chinese, when they begin travelling internationally again.
There are also some interesting dynamics in emerging areas such as the cruise channel. It was interesting to hear about data that m1nd-set presented at a recent conference which showed that the increased dwell time onboard cruise ships is translating into huge gifting spend from passengers who carefully consider the perfect gifts to take home for family and friends.
At Lindt, we are confident that gifting’s importance to our channel will only strengthen, with confectionery playing a leading role as a key category in this space. At the end of the day, it forms one-third of the holy Trinity of purchasing targets we need to cater to – ‘For Me, For Us, For Them’.
Given the premiumisation dynamics in our channel, it is a powerful fact that shoppers are typically more willing to trade up and spend a little more than usual when gifting. If we lean into this fact and deliver robust gifting offers, I have no doubt that we can help deliver the ultimate gift to the industry – strong and sustainable growth. ✈
