03_singapore_2024_WEDNESDAY_ISSUE

Today : Decod i ng Today’s Dwe l l T ime Workshop 08:00-09:00, Begonia Room, Level 3, Marina Bay Sands I n today’s fast paced and hyper-connected world, the number of different players competing for the travelling consumer’s dwell time is increasing. In this morning’s Workshop: Decoding Today’s Dwell Time, the audience will hear from Stephen Hillam, Managing Director, Pi Insight & Research Ltd; Siddharth Pathak, Senior Partner, Kearney; and Puan Hani Ezra Hussin, Senior General Manager of Commercial Services, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. Here, they each share a preview of their participation. Stephen Hillam, Managing Director, Pi Insight & Research Ltd: “Dwell time is a key aspect and benefit of the airport environment and during the session, we will be exploring key themes including understanding the dwell time opportunity, how to position duty free shopping as a key activity within the dwell time opportunity, and then also how to take advantage of time spent in the duty free store. The dwell time opportunity is significant within the Asia Pacific region and while this offers potential to drive conversion and influence purchase decision-making, we will also be exploring how dwell time can be used to drive lasting impressions among today’s shopper base.” Siddharth Pathak , Senior Partner, Kearney: “To gain a competitive advantage, the travel retail industry will need to capture travellers earlier in their journey, before they even arrive at the airport. While perfect information about the travellers does exist, capturing and leveraging this is complex. Five ecosystem players – airports, retailers, carriers, brands, and digital and media partners – will need to use their collective strengths to bring the best travel retail offering to Asia Pacific travellers.” Puan Hani Ezra Hussin , Senior General Manager of Commercial Services, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad: “Internal factors such as store layout and ambiance, strategic product placement, positive staff interactions, and enticing promotions all contribute to prolonging in-store visits and encouraging exploration. Conversely, external factors such as flight timings, passenger demographics, security checks, and the overall airport experience directly impact shopping time and behaviour, ultimately influencing dwell time in duty free stores.” W omen in Travel Retail+ (WiTR+) hosted an exclusive networking event at TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference yesterday where members gathered to network over drinks. Speaking about the event, WiTR+ Chair Sarah Branquinho said: “Here we are in Singapore again and, in the last 12 months, we have introduced corporate partnerships which have enabled us to hire a little help, but also will boost the number of women across businesses that we will have as members.” Branquinho also explained that this year WiTR+ is launching a corporate mentorship scheme, while the charity it is supporting this year is the ‘FRASI Bike to School’ project in Sri Lanka. Describing being a sponsor for WiTR+ charitable endeavours, Victoria’s Secret has shown that the partnership has had a big impact. Victoria’s Secret & Co VP Global Travel Retail Helly Ding said: “I’ve been in touch with Maitreyi Karanth who is the head of the 2023 chosen charity Koma Karanth Foundation. She was sending me pictures and not only was she sending me pictures of the houses being built, she sent me the stories of the families that would be moving into that house. I think learning about those stories was moving, especially when seeing where they were living before. The part that blew us all away was that we only donated €12,000 and €6,000 was enough to not just build a house but also to furnish it. Knowing the impact of what it could do was the part that was most powerful.” The WiTR+ corporate partnerships will be available to companies at a cost of £1,000 and each corporate partnership buys companies 40 memberships for women working within their travel retail division, and includes featuring their logo on the WiTR+ website. WiTR+ membership boost shows the impact of charitable alliance Wednesday 1 5 May 2024 8 T F W A D A I L Y