Cannes_2026_TUESDAY_ISSUE_DIGITAL

much more sophisticated ways of engaging them.” As traveller expectations become more personalised and experience-driven, airports, retailers and brands need to rethink the relationship between convenience, commerce and the overall passenger experience. “I think the starting point should be to design around the passenger rather than around the store,” Roucolle said. “Travellers increasingly expect brands to recognise them, understand their preferences and make interactions effortless, and those expectations don’t disappear when they enter an airport. In fact, they become more important because passengers are operating with limited time, unfamiliar surroundings and often some degree of stress. Every piece of friction consumes attention that could otherwise become engagement. So, convenience and commerce shouldn’t be competing objectives: a better, more seamless airport experience can actually create higher-quality time that passengers choose to spend shopping, dining or engaging with brands.” Sustainable mobility is redefining the boundaries of the airport Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration across the mobility sector. The transition towards more sustainable travel has the potential to reshape the commercial model and proposition of airports and other transport hubs. “One implication is that we need to think about the airport less as an isolated piece of infrastructure and more as part of a wider mobility ecosystem,” Roucolle shared. “We are already seeing airports become more closely integrated with rail, metro and other forms of ground transport. Geneva, for example, chose to divert investment away from expanding parking at the airport into providing tickets to public transport. While actions like this expand the sustainability mandate of the airport, they also expand the boundaries in which airports can engage with consumers beyond the four physical walls of the airport. We now have a better idea of how people are coming to the airport and when, and by proxy can better tailor propositions to individual consumers based on this.” Travel retail can become an integral part of the connected journey Looking ahead, there is significant potential for travel retail as mobility becomes smarter, more connected and increasingly integrated with the wider travel experience. “The opportunity is to move beyond a model that has historically depended heavily on captive footfall, physical stores and price advantage,” Roucolle said. “Smarter mobility can create more usable passenger time, extend engagement beyond the terminal and allow propositions to become much more personalised. But more time doesn’t automatically translate into more spending: retailers still have to earn the purchase. That means moving from asking, ‘What discount can I offer?’ to ‘Why should this traveller buy this product, here, now?’ Exclusivity, storytelling, discovery, personalisation and experiences that cannot simply be replicated at home will become increasingly important sources of advantage.” What excites Roucolle most is that airports and travel retail sit, quite uniquely, right at the intersection of several important macro-changes happening in the broader economy, such as mobility, technology and consumer behaviour. “At the same time, airports are under tremendous pressure to become more resilient and efficient while also dramatically raising the experience bar. Put another way, there is also a unique imperative to act here. Travel retail undoubtedly has an important role to play in that transition.” For travel retail, the message is clear: the future opportunity lies not simply in capturing more passenger footfall, but in becoming an integral part of a smarter, more connected and more personalised journey. As the boundaries between mobility, commerce and experience continue to evolve, airports and their retail partners will have new ways to engage travellers – before, during and beyond the journey itself. The challenge will be to turn the time, data and connectivity created by this transformation into experiences that genuinely add value for passengers, while creating sustainable commercial opportunities for the wider travel ecosystem. Gilles Roucolle, Managing Partner and Global Head of Industries, Oliver Wyman: “Travellers increasingly expect brands to recognise them, understand their preferences and make interactions effortless, and those expectations don’t disappear when they enter an airport.” Tuesday 29 September 2026 16 T F W A D A I L Y