Cannes_2026_WEDNESDAY_ISSUE_DIGITAL

The connected traveller: How AI turns data into growth Today, 15:00 – 16:00, Jean Mineur Auditorium, Level 3, Palais des Festivals T ravel retail has never had access to more consumer data, yet much of its commercial potential remains untapped. The gap is not data but the intelligence to act on it. Leading retailers across beauty, luxury and digital commerce are now using AI as the mechanism that turns fragmented data into anticipated demand, personalised engagement, and profitable growth. Drawing on an exclusive TFWA study by Kearney, Victor Dijon, Senior Partner and European Lead, Consumer and Retail at Kearney, and Alex Liu, Chairman Emeritus at Kearney will reveal how travel retail compares with other retail channels, where greater value can be captured across the traveller journey, and how AI is reshaping discovery, conversion and loyalty, including social channels and the rise of agentic commerce. They will then be joined by Nicolas Van Brandt, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail Belgium, for a panel discussion bringing a leading retailer’s perspective on what these shifts mean in practice and where the greatest opportunities lie for the industry. The session will be moderated by Michele Miranda, Conference Director, TFWA. Alex Liu, Chairman Emeritus and Partner, Kearney Nicolas Van Brandt, Chief Executive Officer, Lagardère Travel Retail Belgium Michele Miranda, Conference Director, TFWA Victor Dijon, Senior Partner and European Lead, Consumer and Retail, Kearney P reviewing ‘The connected traveller: how AI turns data into growth’ workshop, Victor Dijon, Senior Partner and European Lead, Consumer and Retail, Kearney and Alex Liu, Chairman Emeritus and Partner, Kearney, shared that the ‘2026 Connected Traveler Radar’ – based on a survey of 800 international travellers in the United States and Germany – shows how shopping decisions are changing. “68% percent say AI or social media influenced what they considered buying on their last trip,” they explained. “Among the most digitally engaged travellers, 73% checked prices, reviews, or product information in store. And 53 percent are likely to use an AI assistant for travel-shopping tasks over the next 12 months. Together, these findings show that more of the decision forms before the airport, while the physical store remains critical to confirming the choice.” These findings underpin the core message of the workshop: AI and data can give travel retail a new way to compete. Drawing on more than 100 benchmarks from outside travel retail, Victor Dijon Turning connected traveller data into action and Alex Liu will show how leading businesses are already using AI to explore what travel retail can learn across the journey, from discovery to retention: anticipating what travellers are likely to need, making the offer and physical experience more relevant, removing friction from purchase, and learning from the outcome for the next trip. The practical takeaway is that AI should not simply report what happened; it should help businesses decide what to do next. “Shared intelligence can help make this possible,” they said. “Travellers experience one continuous journey, but the signals that could improve it remain dispersed across airlines, airports, retailers, brands, and media partners. Connecting the right signals can turn travel retail’s unique visibility of future demand into better decisions while there is still time to act. For businesses, the starting point is a commercial question: connect the minimum useful information, take specific action, and prove the incremental value. Travel retail should organise not only around the passengers who have arrived, but around the travellers who are coming.” Wednesday 30 September 2026 12 T F W A D A I L Y