Perfumes, sweets or alcohol? ACI study in Dubai reveals airport shopping habits

From confectionery to electronics, airport shopping baskets are evolving rapidly, and some traditional categories are losing ground, according to a new study by Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific & Middle East.

The study titled: ‘Travel Retail Study in the Post-Pandemic Era’ covered 36 major airports across 21 countries and surveyed 4,000 passengers. Across both regions, airport retail performance shows striking consistency when spending behaviour was compared between 2019 and 2025.
“Luxury goods and perfumes & cosmetics rank as the top two categories in both regions, reinforcing airports as trusted destinations for premium, duty-free and gifting purchases. Electronics typically rank third, supported by pricing advantages and last-minute convenience,” the study said, pointing out that together these top three categories generate the highest net margins for airports.

Regional preferences, however, reveal important differences.
In the Middle East, retail spending is skewed towards books and magazines, fragrances and confectionery, reflecting strong gifting traditions. Asia-Pacific markets, by contrast, show stronger demand for luxury goods, local products and alcohol, particularly among outbound leisure travellers.

One of the most notable shifts is the rise of electronics. In the Middle East, per-passenger spending on electronics has risen 14 per cent compared to 2019, as travellers increasingly seek airport-exclusive products and price advantages unavailable in city malls.

At the same time, tobacco purchases have declined, while alcohol spending has grown only marginally. The trend is largely generational, with younger travellers showing far less interest in tobacco and liquor than older cohorts.

Despite growing digital engagement, airport shopping remains overwhelmingly physical. Around 70 per cent of purchases are impulse-driven, with product choice (39 per cent) and pricing or promotions (29 per cent) accounting for nearly 70 per cent of buying motivation. Store experience alone influences just 16 per cent of purchasing decisions.

Interestingly, while 65 per cent of Gen Z travellers say they are willing to pay more for sustainable products, only 20 per cent of airports currently view sustainability as a core retail driver – highlighting a gap between traveller expectations and airport strategies.

As airports increasingly rely on retail revenues, understanding what travellers buy – and what they are leaving behind – is becoming as important as tracking passenger numbers themselves.