November 7, 2016

DFWC Global Shopping Monitor demonstrates importance of design and ambiance

The Duty Free World Council has released its latest quarterly Global Shopping Monitor for Q3, 2016, produced in partnership with research and consultancy agency m1nd-set.

For the first time the report explores the impact of the design and atmosphere of duty free shops and reveals that this features among the main aspects contributing to their positive impact on the travelling consumer. This is now the third most impactful aspect on shopper satisfaction levels. Perceived value for money remains the most important contributing factor followed by uniqueness of products and services.

This latest edition of the Monitor, is the fourth, enabling the Council to provide a full year analysis of the key indicators. The global satisfaction index has seen a 2 point gain, while Asia Pacific has performed particularly well with a 4% increase compared to the first edition in the last quarter of 2015 and up 2% on the previous quarter this year.

The importance of duty free shopping as a part of the overall travel experience has increased consistently over the past four quarters, up 3% since Q4, 2015 and up 1% on the previous quarter this year. Gifting, also scores well in the latest Monitor, up 1% on the previous quarter and 2% since Q4, 2015. The unique experience and opportunity to purchase exclusive products, as highlighted in the previous report, continue to show upward trends with both improving by 2% in satisfaction levels among shoppers globally since the first Monitor, indicating strong performance by the industry in meeting shoppers’ needs on these measures.

Use of electronic devices to gather information on shopping also shows a strong upward trend, increasing by 2% compared to the last quarter and 4% since Q4, 2015. Similarly, the percentage of shoppers claiming to never use their electronic devices for shopping information has fallen sharply over the past four quarters from 53% to 42% and down 7% since the previous quarter. The Monitor reveals that Chinese travellers are particularly avid information seekers using their mobile devices. There has been a steady improvement in the customer satisfaction levels with regards to information on customs regulations, up by 4% since Q4, 2015 and 2% on the previous quarter and an equally positive trend in the number of customers refraining from purchasing because of fear of confiscation, which has fallen by 5% over the past 4 quarters.

The percentage of shoppers who find that duty free prices are cheaper than elsewhere has fallen by 2% since the first Monitor in Q4 2015 and shoppers are becoming increasingly price conscious. Price comparison is on the increase with almost 48% of shoppers now comparing duty free shop prices with those offered in other channels, especially with online stores and particularly in the alcohol and beauty categories.

While the Shopper Monitor reveals top level data for the most part with some regional differentiation insights, more detailed data on the regional disparities for each aspect studied is available from m1nd-set upon request (info@m1nd-set.com.) The report is compiled from interviews with over 4000 travellers across all major world regions during Q3, 2016.

Duty Free World Council23-25 rue de Berri • 75008 Paris • France • Tel: +33 (0)1-4074-0721 • Fax:+33 (0)1-4074-0985 • www.dfworldcouncil.com

Association Loi du 1er juillet 1901 • Siret: 80255700900023 • APE: 9499Z • VAT: FR89 802557009

About the Duty Free World CouncilThe Duty Free World Council, the DFWC, is the industry association representing the interests of the global duty free and travel retail channel and has the overall objective of creating the optimal operating environment for the industry that will allow it to achieve its full potential.

Contact:Gerard Murray Executive Secretary,gerard.murray@dfworldcouncil.com

Duty Free World Council23-25 rue de Berri • 75008 Paris • France • Tel: +33 (0)1-4074-0721 • Fax:+33 (0)1-4074-0985 • www.dfworldcouncil.com

Association Loi du 1er juillet 1901 • Siret: 80255700900023 • APE: 9499Z • VAT: FR89 802557009