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I n yesterday’s TFWA i.lab Asia pitch session, Harriet Sheffer, Head of Strategy & Commercial, Outform (Level 1 – i.lab 15) shared details of a brand-new research report on ‘Winning Formulas for Chinese Shoppers in Travel Retail’. Among many compelling insights, Sheffer explained that over half of Chinese travellers are still looking to make a purchase in travel retail, while three-quarters of Chinese travellers make planned purchases. Outform brings insight, technology and creativity to transform the retail experience. A key piece of advice shared is to be eye-catching and break the shopper’s journey. Y esterday, Subramania Bhatt, Founder & CEO, China Trading Desk (Level 1 – i.lab 2) presented the single, seamless intelligence suite – China Travel Dashboard 3.0, which simplifies insight generation and enhances campaign agility for travel retail brands. “China Travel Dashboard 3.0 is the most advanced intelligence platform purpose-built for the travel retail industry to decode the evolving behaviour of Chinese outbound travellers,” said Bhatt. “At TFWA i.lab Asia, our goal is to form strategic partnerships with travel retail stakeholders – particularly luxury, beauty, and wine & spirits brands – seeking to tap into China’s surging outbound market, which is projected to surpass 155 million travellers in 2025, eclipsing pre-pandemic levels.” I n yesterday’s TFWA i.lab Asia pitch session, Jeslyn Ho, Business Development Director, shared how eSIM Access (Level 1 – i.lab 3) helps brands to integrate eSIM stores into any website and app related to travel in a hassle-free way, creating new revenue streams. eSIM Access is looking to work with both travel retail operators and airlines on their pre-order, inflight and on-ground programs, allowing airlines to start enjoying the benefits of including travel eSIM on their selling platforms. “For airlines who are more aggressive, and ready to embark on offering travel eSIM as an independent ancillary product directly – similar to car rental and insurance – we are more than happy to journey through together from conceptualisation to implementation, after all, we have already done so for some of the leaders within travel ecosystems, such as Klook,” said Ho. “This is our first time participating and our aim is really to make some new friends, showcase our products, and share the possibility of collaboration between travel retail and tech.” Outform: innovating travel retail experiences China Trading Desk’s single, seamless intelligence suite eSIM Access: a collaboration between travel retail and tech TFWA i.lab Asia is located on the exhibition show floor within Level 1 of the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Yesterday included two TFWA i.lab Asia pitch sessions in which participants offered a glimpse into the future of duty free and travel retail.