Airport-based brands are tapping the wider trend for adapting skincare routines to varying climates (see Key Stats and Climate-Attuned Concepts Showcase Product Performance in Beauty Retail Strategies: Trends & Innovations, 26-28) via high-tech diagnostic devices, holographic AI agents and lifestyle-led pop-ups.

Echoing consumers’ wider adoption of AI for travel planning (see Key Stats), chatbots – both third-party and branded – are targeting two different points in the traveller journey: assisting with pre-ordering purchases (an area forecast to grow rapidly) and airside, in-store AI that fast-tracks decision-making. Korea’s duty-free giants are leading the charge with ChatGPT plug-ins and messaging-app integrations.

Smart alcohol brands are building on the Sensorial Airside Sanctuaries covered in Travel Retail’s New Moves: Trends & Opportunities 2024, blending soundscapes, tastings and olfactory experiences to enliven product provenance. With travel retail one of few bright spots in alcohol sales (see Key Stats), these portals to distant terroirs are a compelling way to stand out and chime with travellers’ discovery-primed, escapist mindsets.

Gen Z is taking more frequent leisure trips than other age groups and prioritising airside experiences over duty-free discounts (see Key Stats). In response, smart brands are creating spaces prioritising cultural currency and curatorial confidence while irreverently mixing high-low status codes – from open-access airport lounges to streetwear-coded concept stores.

Resonating with the 73% of travellers globally keen to support local businesses (American Express, 2025), innovative transport hubs are going beyond tokenistic souvenir showcases to champion homegrown producers more imaginatively. Interiors translating regional topography into sculptural fixtures offer a subtle sense-of-place anchor while behind-the-scenes, barrier-busting incubators help independent brands enter the travel retail ecosystem.