Airport Experience® News - ACDBE Issue 2026

DATA CHECK

Commercial Value At the same time, retail in airports appears to be thriving, at least from a global perspective. Airport retail climbed back to 33% of total spend, with duty free contributing 24%. The comeback comes with an asterisk though. Only 21% of travelers buy duty free regularly, 38% browse occasionally and 34% walk past entirely. Value perception remains the sticking point, with only 31% calling duty free a good value. Tr avelers say they would spend more with the right motivation. Better pricing and card cashback each move the needle for 34% of respondents. Walk-through duty free formats appeal to 42% of travelers, and hybrid concepts blending retail with food and beverage draw 38%. The appetite for spending is present. Duty free retail is perceived to offer the best value for travelers among 11 categories in the survey, with 68% of respondents viewing it as moderate to good value. Airport lounges came it with a 66% positive value rating. 59% of respondents viewed cafes and coffee shops as moderate to good value, the same rate applied to restaurants. Airport bars, however, held the lowest value rating, with just under half of respondents viewing their value as positive. The Airport Dimensions study also revealed some key motivators for passenger spend, with 34% of those surveyed listing both off-airport/online pricing and card cashback and discounts as key motivators. The Digital Opportunity Respondents also indicated a growing acceptance of digital relationships with airports. “If executed well, that relationship can deliver a seamless and joined-up journey for passengers along with revenue growth for the airport,” the report noted. Seventy-seven percent of travelers want a single mobile app unifying the airport experience, and 30% say it would directly push them to spend more. Proactive flight information builds the trust that opens the door to personalized offers, pre-booked services and loyalty engagement that extends beyond the terminal. All of these trends are converging at the same moment. “The travel outlook is only predicted to rise, Gwilliam said. “Having a product we know is in demand is number one, and the pace that technology is going to come in and create a more seamless experience will be helpful. This is a really exciting time to be doing what we’re doing.”

Value For Money

Duty free retail

Airport lounges

Airport transportation

Travel essentials retail

Fast track services

Cafes and coffee shops

Restaurants Sleep and rest facilities

Official airport parking

Health, beauty and wellness services

Airport bars

31%

25%

24%

30%

26%

25%

25%

24%

22%

23%

19%

Very Poor Not Good Moderate Good Value 37% -9% -2%

37%

37%

34%

34%

34%

33%

32%

32%

30%

29%

-9%

-10%

-10%

-11%

-13%

14%

-15%

-16%

-17%

-19%

-2%

-3%

-3%

-3%

-3%

-4%

-6%

-6%

-6%

-7%

Airport Dimensions’ 2026 Airport Experience Study

They take five trips per year on average, are 39 years old, travel premium cabins at twice the rate of other passengers and spend four times more inside the airport than everyone else. The lounge is their home base. Three quarters of ALTs use airport lounges regularly, nearly half engage with airports digitally before they arrive and their satisfaction rate sits at 89%. They are happy, they are spending and they respond to the right kind of engagement. In fact, the study showed that more travelers are using airport lounges than ever before. Usage hit 52% of regular travelers this year, an 11-point jump, and the profile of who is walking through those doors has

shifted. Younger travelers are leading the surge, and bank and credit card programs like Priority Pass have become nearly as common an entry point as airline status or cabin class. That broader audience wants more from the space too. Nearly two-thirds of lounge guests say they would like to shop duty free from within the lounge. Sixty-four percent would pay for a premium food menu. Half would pay for premium beverages. The commercial opportunity sitting inside these rooms is significant, Gwilliam notes, and the gap between what travelers want and what most lounges currently offer is wide open.

Strongest Motivators For Spend

34% Off-airport / online pricing

29% Offers Ahead of Travel

34% Card cashback and discounts

30% Airline/FFP Miles

26% Advanced Information

9% None of the above

23% Location-based Offers

26% Off-airport Price Comparison

22% Collect on Return

16% Availability Checks

21% Destination Delivery

22% Inbound vs. outbound prices

21% Shop Online & Collect

14% Personal shopper

Airport Dimensions’ 2026 Airport Experience Study

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AX NEWS JUNE 2026