The next big Retail Media opportunity?
The future of travel retail
Retail media has moved from an emerging channel to essential growth engine.
Retail media is no longer an emerging channel — it’s a growth engine. Global retail media revenue is forecast to reach $176.9 billion in 2025, surpassing total TV revenue (including streaming) for the first time. As brands and retailers scale Retail Media Networks (RMNs) across commerce environments, one powerful — and underleveraged — opportunity is accelerating fast: travel retail.
Airports are uniquely primed for conversion. Travellers have designated free time, heightened emotions, and a strong appetite for browsing and impulse purchasing — with 70% of Americans reporting they make impulse purchases at the airport. Add to that the fact that global passenger traffic is forecast to double by 2042, and the global travel retail and duty-free market is predicted to reach $145bn by 2028 — and it’s clear: this is not niche retail.
Travel retail is a fast-growing powerhouse — and retail media is perfectly aligned to unlock its full potential.
In an environment where dwell time is finite and decision windows are short, retail media delivers something uniquely powerful: full-funnel impact, in real time, at the point of purchase.
In the Report:
- Why the airport shopper mindset is so commercially powerful
- How Retail Media Networks align with traveller behaviour
- The five key themes driving high-performing travel retail activations
- Real-world brand examples already executing successfully
- Future-facing opportunities for brands ready to lead
It breaks down how omnichannel, interactivity, dynamic content, localisation and personalisation are reshaping the airport retail experience — and why brands that act now will win.
Key Trends
Omnichannel
Retail media in airports must connect pre-flight, in-terminal and post-arrival touchpoints, creating seamless journeys that prevent drop-off and convert inspiration into purchase.
Interactive Experiences
Gamification, virtual try-on, and immersive digital activations transform browsing travellers into engaged shoppers, increasing dwell time, data capture and brand memorability.
Dynamic Brand Awareness
Motion-led, real-time and utility-driven retail media captures attention in fast-paced airport environments, turning micro-moments of intent into conversion opportunities.
Localisation
Retail media enables brands to adapt messaging dynamically to airport, cultural and situational contexts — delivering global consistency with local relevance at scale.
Personalisation
By leveraging behavioural and contextual data, retail media can tailor offers, prompts and experiences in real time — enhancing the traveller journey while driving basket size and frequency.
