Indian survey reveals airport retail potential

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The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation finds promise in the Indian airport retail market

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has surveyed almost 2,000 passengers at major airports in India and found that nearly half of all travellers would buy goods either at their departure or arrival airport. Full-Service Carrier (FSC) passengers are more willing to spend money at retail outlets, with 44% admitting an interest in shopping at the airport, while nearly 40% of Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) travellers expressed a willingness to purchase products.

Chocolates were the product survey respondents would be most likely to buy, coming top in the preference of 56% of FSC passengers and 53% of LCC travellers. Forty-nine per cent of LCC passengers would buy books, compared to 44% for FSC. Luxury good also performed well in the survey – 47% of FSC and 42% of LCC passengers would be interesting in splashing on those. Clothes attracted the interest of 43% of FSC and 41% of LCC travellers, while less than 20% of passengers in both categories were attracted by the offer of electronics and cigarettes.

CAPA said that the findings “reveal that there are only minor differences between FSC and LCC buying sentiments” and that the “propensity to buy appears strong across a range of products”. The report added that India’s airports are still relatively underdeveloped in retail activity, which could provide attractive opportunities to would-be retail operators.

Click here to read the full findings.