Travel Retail

Travel retail is the FMCG sales channel that sits “in transit”, airports, ferries, border shops, cruise ships, and other places where people are traveling and buying differently than they do at home. It looks like retail, but the shopper mission, the rules, and the operator model make it its own world.

Also known as: duty free (often), airport retail, travel channel.

What travel retail means

Travel retail covers sales points where the shopper is traveling and the retailer is typically an operator running a concession, not a classic grocery chain. The obvious one is airports, but ferries, border shops, and cruise environments matter too, especially in the Nordics and parts of Europe.

The big difference is context. The shopper is killing time, celebrating a trip, grabbing a gift, spending leftover currency, or buying a “treat myself” item they would not justify in their normal weekly basket. That changes what sells, how packs should look, and what kind of activation actually works.

It also means the store is rarely “one store”. An airport operator might cover many airports, with strict planograms, display rules, and security driven logistics. You sell through agreements and execution playbooks, then you fight for visibility inside those rules.

How travel retail is different from normal retail

• Shopper mission and time pressure:

  • Shoppers browse with a clock running, or they sprint and grab, either way it is not a calm weekly shop with a list. Your job is to be instantly understandable and easy to pick.

• Seasonality and passenger flow:

  • Weekdays, holidays, flight schedules, and tourist peaks drive volume swings that feel extreme compared to grocery. A “good month” can be a calendar effect, not a brand effect.

• Assortments and pack sizes:

  • Travel assortments are tighter, more curated, and often skew to travel exclusives, gifting, and multipacks. Pack size and format matter because luggage, cabin rules, and gifting all shape what fits.

• Pricing and promotions:

  • Pricing can be anchored to duty free expectations, currency perception, and comparison shopping, not the local shelf ticket down the street. Promotions are often operator negotiated and heavily linked to space and display, not just a price cut.

• Visibility rules:

  • The battle is at entrance zones, hot spots, gondola ends, and category blocks defined by the operator, with strict visual guidelines. “We have a great brand” is not a plan, you need the right spot, the right fixture, and compliant materials.

• Operator agreements:

  • You sell into an operator model with listings, fees, terms, and execution requirements that can look closer to a media deal than a retail listing. Relationships are often centralized, with local execution needing constant follow up.

• Logistics and security constraints:

  • Deliveries, storage, access, and timing are constrained by security, airside rules, and limited backroom space. If stock is late or short, you do not “fix it tomorrow”, you miss the passenger wave and it is gone.

What “winning” looks like in travel retail

• Right assortment:

  • A tight line up that matches traveler missions, gifting, and trip length.

• Right visibility:

  • Placement that makes the brand easy to notice fast, in the zones that actually get traffic.

• Strong activation:

  • Promos, bundles, and displays that fit the operator rules and the traveler mood.

• Staff advocacy (where relevant):

  • Store staff who know what to recommend and when, especially in categories with guidance and gifting

• Reliable availability:

  • The basics are always on shelf, no holes during peak departures.

• Clear seasonal planning:

  • A calendar that treats summer, Christmas, ski season, and long weekends as separate games.

A simple example

A confectionery brand plans for the summer peak when leisure travel spikes and gifting becomes more common. The KAM and trade marketing team pick a travel assortment that leans into shareable packs and giftable formats, not the same singles that win in grocery.

They agree with the operator on a short promo window tied to a visible location near the main walk through, plus a compliant display unit. POS materials are prepared early, with copy that works for non native readers and travelers who scan fast.

The field team checks the first stores as the promo starts, making sure the display is built correctly and the price communication matches the agreement. Mid period, they focus on keeping stock clean and available, because empty space kills impulse.

After the peak weeks, they review what got listed, what actually got executed, and where visibility was lost to other brands or operator changes. They capture learnings for the next peak, including which pack formats moved fastest and which locations were worth paying for.

Common mistakes

• Teams copy paste their grocery retail plan into travel retail and assume it will work without changes.

• Brands bring the wrong pack sizes and formats, then wonder why shoppers do not pick them for travel and gifting.

• Commercial teams underestimate seasonality and passenger flow shifts, then end up planning too late or stocking the wrong weeks.

• POS materials arrive late, which means the promo starts without the display, the signage, or the message that makes it sell.

• People ignore operator rules and guidelines, then get blocked, delisted, or moved to a worse location because the execution is not compliant.

• Teams do not manage stock discipline tightly enough, so the best visibility is wasted on empty shelves during peak traffic.