Travel companions are increasingly shaping airport shopping, new m1nd-set research shows
New research by the Swiss agency m1nd-set, specialized in passenger and travel retail analysis, points to an important shift in the way airport purchasing decisions are made. According to data published on May 21, 2026 in Global Travel Retail Magazine, shopper behavior in duty free stores depends not only on their habits, budget or purpose of travel, but also on whom they are traveling with. The m1nd-set research focuses on the so-called social shopper, that is, on situations in which passengers move through the airport as a couple, with family, friends or business colleagues. Such an approach shifts the focus from the individual to a smaller travel group, which in the terminal often jointly decides how much time it will spend in the store and whether it will enter the sales space at all.
According to the research reported by Global Travel Retail Magazine, passengers traveling with a partner or family make up 43 percent of all duty free shoppers, making them the largest segment among the observed groups. Passengers with colleagues make up 14 percent of shoppers, while those traveling with friends account for 12 percent. These shares do not refer only to the size of the groups, but also to different behavioral patterns: families and couples more often look for promotions and practical solutions, passengers with colleagues record the highest conversion rate and the highest average spend, and passengers with friends most often buy impulsively. For airports, retailers and brands, this means that segmenting shoppers by age, nationality or income is no longer enough to understand behavior in terminals.
From an individual decision to group dynamics
The owner and CEO of m1nd-set, Peter Mohn, stated that passengers in airports do not behave as isolated consumers when they travel with others. According to his explanation, companions in such situations act as temporary social units that influence purchase motives, spending patterns, planning and the final purchase decision. In other words, one person may be the direct buyer, but the presence of a partner, child, friend or colleague can change the speed of decision-making, the choice of category and the amount spent. Mohn emphasized that the type of companion can influence the entire travel retail journey, from entering the store to the size of the final basket.
Families and couples buy according to plan, but not necessarily modestly
According to m1nd-set data, families and couples are at the same time highly value-sensitive and very important for premium categories. In this group, 27 percent of passengers are described as value-oriented, and 21 percent as motivated by practicality. The research also states that this is the group that most often enters a store specifically looking for promotions, with a share of 26 percent. However, the same data show that such passengers are not exclusively savings-focused shoppers. According to m1nd-set, families show the strongest interest in alcoholic beverages, with a share of 24 percent, and generate the highest spending in certain premium categories, including jewellery and watches, beauty and haircare.
Global Travel Retail Magazine states that families achieve average spending of 290 dollars in the jewellery and watches category, 118 dollars in the beauty category and 107 dollars in haircare. They also have a strong presence in core categories: according to the same research, 40 percent buy food, and 18 percent buy tobacco products. Such data suggest that family shopping at the airport often has multiple roles. Part of the purchase may be planned and connected with gifts, supplies for home or products that passengers consider more favorable in the duty free environment. Another part may be emotional, connected with the beginning or end of a trip, memories, marking a special occasion or the desire to turn the travel experience into an object carried home.
Earlier m1nd-set research on changing purchase motives in the travel retail sector also fits into this context. According to an analysis published by Travel Markets Insider, m1nd-set found that price is gradually losing its role as the main reason for visiting duty free stores, although value for money remains important. That report states that the price advantage as a reason for visiting duty free stores fell from 26 percent in 2019 to 17 percent in 2024, while 45 percent of shoppers on average cite the in-store experience as an important purchase driver. This explains why group dynamics can become decisive: if shopping is an experience, then the people with whom that experience is shared increasingly influence its outcome.
Passengers with colleagues spend the most and most often rely on staff
The most profitable segment in the new m1nd-set research is not the most numerous group of passengers with family and partners, but passengers traveling with colleagues. According to data published in Global Travel Retail Magazine, they account for 14 percent of all shoppers, but have the highest conversion rate, 68 percent, and the highest average spend, 141 dollars. The research also states that this group shows the strongest tendency to buy beauty products, with a share of 56 percent, and significantly higher spending than other segments in electronics, where average spending amounts to 281 dollars, and in clothing and fashion accessories, where it amounts to 184 dollars. This indicates that business travel, although often time-limited, can create space for targeted and financially stronger shopping.
m1nd-set links this pattern with the development of the travel model often described as bleisure, that is, the combination of business and leisure travel. In such an environment, passengers do not travel only for a meeting or conference, but try to connect a business trip with personal time, relaxation or bonding with colleagues. Shopping can be part of a business routine, an opportunity for a gift, a sign of status or a way to turn the short time before a flight into a useful experience. In the group of colleagues, the element of mutual influence is also additionally important: one person can encourage another to enter a store or choose a different category.
The finding on the role of sales staff is particularly significant. According to m1nd-set research, 57 percent of passengers traveling with colleagues are inclined to interact with sales staff, while this share among passengers with family and friends is 49 percent. Among passengers who communicated with staff, sales advisors influenced 71 percent of passengers with a partner or family, 73 percent of passengers with friends and 80 percent of passengers on a business trip with colleagues. Almost 30 percent of passengers with colleagues were encouraged to buy a different product than the one originally intended, and slightly less than one fifth stated that without interaction with staff they would not have bought anything. For a sector that invests heavily in digital touchpoints, this is a reminder that human recommendation, product knowledge and quality employee training remain an important commercial tool.
Friends buy more spontaneously, but with lower average spending
Passengers traveling with friends, according to m1nd-set research, make up 12 percent of duty free shoppers and have the lowest average spend, 127 dollars, which is below the global average of 133 dollars. At the same time, this group is the most spontaneous: 32 percent of purchases in this segment are described as impulsive. This means that groups of friends may not enter the airport with a clear shopping plan, but they are sensitive to sudden incentives, attractive window displays, products that can be shared, gifts, limited editions or elements that fit into the social travel experience. m1nd-set states that trips with friends are increasingly leaning toward interest-driven tourism and luxury that becomes more accessible when costs or experiences are shared within the group.
For retailers, this segment is a different challenge from families or business travelers. With groups of friends, it is not enough merely to highlight the price or functionality of a product. It is important to create an environment that can stop the group, encourage conversation and offer a product that has social value. These can be products suitable for shared consumption, personalized souvenirs, local specialties, promotional packages or experiences that passengers want to photograph and share. Mohn, according to Global Travel Retail Magazine, stressed that retailers should move away from classic storytelling toward a kind of story-living approach, that is, experiences in which the shopper not only hears the story about the product but also experiences it in the space.
This trend is connected with another area that m1nd-set analyzes in more recent research: the merging of categories and the creation of hybrid spaces. According to a Global Travel Retail Magazine report on m1nd-set research about hybrid retail and hospitality, some passengers remain in one pattern of movement through the terminal, for example going only to a café or only to a store. The research states that integrated spaces, such as tasting zones, branded bars and retail-dining concepts, can reduce barriers to movement and increase conversion. If such a model is connected with traveling in company, a companion who does not want to shop can still remain involved in the experience through a drink, tasting or waiting area.
Airports are gaining increasing commercial importance
The broader context for these findings is the continued growth of air traffic after pandemic disruptions. According to IATA data published on January 29, 2026, total passenger demand in 2025, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, increased by 5.3 percent compared with 2024, while international demand rose by 7.1 percent. IATA also stated that the seat load factor for the full year reached 83.6 percent, a record for full-year traffic. These data show that passenger flows continue to increase, but also that airports and airlines are facing pressure related to capacity, schedules and efficient use of space.
A similar picture is given by Airports Council International forecasts. According to ACI World, the World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2025–2054 report includes a long-term view of global demand in 176 markets, and the organization stated in January 2026 that the continuation of long-term demand growth is reshaping the aviation sector. In such circumstances, commercial spaces in terminals are not only an additional source of revenue, but part of overall passenger experience management. If passenger numbers are increasing, while time spent in the terminal remains limited and subject to operational pressures, the ability of retailers to quickly identify the needs of different groups becomes increasingly important.
m1nd-set's annual outlook for 2025, published by TravelDailyNews, additionally emphasized the importance of experiential retail and digital touchpoints. According to that report, in its 2025 forecast m1nd-set analyzed the behavior of more than 250,000 global consumers in all world regions, including drivers of store entry, planned and impulsive purchases, gifting, store appeal and the role of experiential retail. In the same text, Peter Mohn assessed that retailers must thoughtfully design every touchpoint in the passenger journey, from the areas around stores to design, window displays, interactive screens, activations, signage, packaging and staff interaction. The new research on companions follows that logic, but adds another layer to it: the store does not address only the individual, but often the entire group that influences the decision.
Retailers are considering social zones and benefits for companions
One of the recommendations arising from m1nd-set research concerns the redesign of sales spaces in order to reduce the so-called social discomfort of shopping. According to Global Travel Retail Magazine, m1nd-set believes there is an opportunity to create social zones or hybrid retail-lounge spaces where companions can stay together while one person shops. This reduces the feeling that the shopper is holding up the rest of the group or that, because of someone else's impatience, they must give up browsing. In practice, this can mean more comfortable waiting areas, tasting points, interactive content for children, small benefits for people who are waiting or retail concepts that allow the experience to be shared rather than interrupted.
Mohn, according to the Global Travel Retail Magazine report, recommended that duty free stakeholders reconsider store layouts and introduce spaces that turn the companion from an obstacle into a valuable participant in the experience. This idea is especially important for airports with large international traffic, where passengers of different cultures, languages and habits move through the same commercial zones. Instead of basing the sales strategy only on attracting the person who pays, new research suggests that those who influence the buyer, but may not buy themselves, should also be recognized. A child who wants to try an interactive screen, a friend who suggests a joint gift or a colleague who recommends a product can become a key part of the sales process.
In this sense, m1nd-set research shows that the future of airport retail will not depend only on the breadth of the assortment or the level of discounts. The layout of the space, visibility of categories, quality of advice, the possibility of a short and pleasant stay and the ability of retailers to recognize the difference between family, friendship and business dynamics will play an important role. An earlier ARI analysis of m1nd-set research on cross-category collaboration showed that passengers in duty free stores buy 1.6 categories on average, while Generation Z and millennials buy above that average. The same review states that certain category connections can increase spending, for example when alcohol is bought together with electronics. Such findings further support the idea that the airport is a space in which shopping is increasingly shaped by a combination of experience, social influence and smart category linking.
Although the new m1nd-set research deals directly with duty free shoppers, its conclusions have broader significance for airport management and the passenger experience. If companions influence purchasing decisions, they probably also influence the choice of restaurants, use of lounges, choice of arrival time at the airport, movement through the terminal and passengers' willingness to stop in commercial zones. For brands and retailers, the message is clear: the passenger who enters the store is not always the only addressee of the sales message. In many situations, the decision is shaped by a small group, and sales success depends on whether the whole group feels included, comfortable and unburdened by time.
Sources:
- Global Travel Retail Magazine – report on m1nd-set research about the influence of companions on shopping behavior in airports (link)
- m1nd-set – official information about the agency, field of work and research base (link)
- IATA – data on passenger demand in 2025 and capacity constraints (link)
- ACI World – report on long-term forecasts for global airport traffic 2025–2054 (link)
- TravelDailyNews – report on m1nd-set's forecast for air traffic and shopper behavior in 2025 (link)
- Travel Markets Insider – analysis of m1nd-set on the shift in shopper priorities from price toward experience in travel retail (link)
- Global Travel Retail Magazine – report on m1nd-set research about hybrid retail and food and beverage spaces in airports (link)
- ARI – overview of m1nd-set research on cross-category collaboration in global travel retail (link)