Brands plan new stores as Airports retail on the rise among Indian shoppers

Indian airports are witnessing a shopping boom and retailers are leaving no stone unturned to make passengers spend more time and money at their stores.Luxury goods, apparel, footwear, watches, accessories--everything is fair game at the high-flying shelves of airport stores. By 2021 duty-free spend at Indian airports will increase eight-fold across a decade. Over the last five years, airport retail has been seeing an upward trend in India. Privatization of airports has allowed more brands to leverage the opportunity to access a highly segmented audience. Travel retail in India is growing at a fast rate with local and international brands eyeing for a retail presence across key airports. This trend is expected to accelerate over the coming years. Soon, retailing in India may be at par with international airports in Dubai and Singapore.

Despite higher rentals, brands like High Design, W, M&S are keen to be present at airports because they have access to a highly segmented audience. Over the last decade, the spurt of travel has become synonymous with work, experience and an essential way of living. This has brought about a growth in the airport retail industry in India. While waiting for a flight, be it stopovers or a layover, the preferential purchasing pattern has always been fashion, accessories and food, with the high-ticket products being watches, perfumes and apparel.