Tuesday's Keynote Session with Marshal Cohen

The retail industry is changing, and so are consumers, says Marshal Cohen, yesterday’s Opening Session speaker at ACI-NA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition. As chief industry analyst, NPD Group, Inc., Cohen keeps his finger on the retail industry pulse and spoke to ACI-NA members about consumer behavior and how airports can capitalize on it. 

Amazon is a ‘prime’ example of how the retail landscape is shifting. This coming holiday season, for instance, the online giant is expected to outsell all the other mass merchants combined. An interesting statistic, especially when you note that many people pay to use Amazon’s store. The landscape is changing, indeed.

And airport retail needs to keep up, according to Cohen, and one way to do so is by taking an omnipresent approach. This involves executing a full customer experience using online tools in concert with in-store service and post-purchase follow-up. In addition, airports should consider converting storefronts into showcases, which display product but don’t stock product. Instead, the retailer directly ships the purchase to the consumer’s destination of choice. ‘Cash and carry’ becomes ‘cash and tomorrow.’ 

Cohen provided numerous statistics about the spending power of the various generations, but more importantly he noted that retailers should not focus on the habits of a specific age group but more by life stages. Society, he says, is shifting away from a ‘touch and feel’ experience to one more consistent with a lifestyle.

Airports have the ability to reach more people than any other industry. It’s a great time to capitalize on that and create unique retail opportunities geared toward the current consumer mindset.