July 30, 2020 | less than a minute read

If you think the high street is hard, try being an airport retailer...

AlixPartners

Grim but not unexpected news from Heathrow's retail results. With passengers numbers reduced by over 90% the impact on retail across its terminals is understandable.

With travel experience a slow, stuttering and somewhat uncertain return passenger numbers are unlikely to hit pre-Covid numbers for some time.

What does this mean for airport retail and how can businesses respond not only to such significant market contraction, but also the changing demands and expectations of airport consumers? With health and hygeine being key drivers of retail customer behviour across the board, it's clear that even retailers with a relative captive market will need to adjust their operations and service to address these concerns.

Our research into airport retail highlights some key considerations for businesses as air travel returns, albeit at a slow and measured pace.

Heathrow is anticipating a gradual recovery in passenger traffic as countries re-open but expects 2020 passenger volumes to reach just 29.2 million, more than 60% lower than 2019. A return to pre Covid-19 traffic volumes is not anticipated until after 2022.