Airport Experience® News - Retail Issue 2026

feet in most markets is probably okay,” says Williams Leverett. She points back to the shift in generational trends. “We have to not be afraid to try things, do a small order, just to see if it works,” says Williams Leverett. “You need to be paying attention to what people are doing now, to what Millennials are doing, what Gen Z is doing, what Gen Alpha is doing, because the market is shifting.” Fathi emphasizes that innovations in fulfillment, personalization and sustainability will lead the way. “The walk through, pre-order and click-and-collect models are maturing fast, and the next step beyond that is already visible: contactless stores and contactless fulfillment, closing the gap between what a traveler can do online and what they experience physically at the gate,” he says. “AI-driven personalization at point of sale is moving quicker than most operators are ready for; we’re already seeing retailers tailor offers by nationality, destination and dwell time, not just loyalty history. Sustainability is

Those travelers haven’t stopped flying, they’ve simply redirected elsewhere,” Fathi continues. “That’s the piece operators need to internalize. A US-specific demand shift calls for a different response than a global slowdown would. Operators with heavy North American exposure need to treat that concentration the same way we’d treat any single-supplier or single-category risk and start actively diversifying traveler mix rather than waiting for the picture to correct itself.” At the same time, “this is exactly the moment to protect the experience for the travelers who are still coming through, tightening assortment around what genuinely converts, and investing in staff and service rather than cutting into them,” says Fathi. “The operators who treat this purely as a defensive cost exercise are the ones who’ll lose ground once conditions normalize, because their competitors kept investing in the offer while they pulled back.” And as operators look to the future, “I think that airports are realizing that small format duty free – not having 2,000 square

Above: Legacy Consulting Group operates smaller duty free stores at Melbourne Orlando International Airport (pictured) and Palm Springs International Airport.

shifting from a packaging conversation to a sourcing and product-design one, as travelers ask harder questions about where things come from.” Commercially, “I expect more flexible, risk-sharing structures between airports and concessionaires, moving away from rigid fixed MAG toward models that align incentives more fairly,” says Fathi. “The bigger shift though is how airports see themselves, less as transit points with shops attached, more as integrated destinations in their own right, retail, dining and hospitality designed as one experience. The operators who adapt commercially, not just operationally, will be the ones who lead the next cycle.”

27

AX NEWS SEPTEMBER 2026