Passengers' Shopping Preferences: A Study of Istanbul Airports

Abstract

Today, a significant part of airports' revenues is derived from support services such as retail stores, food and beverage (F&B) services, and entertainment activities. These services are also vital for enhancing passenger experience, which plays a major role as arbiter of airport success. There are different typologies of passengers, and a successful airport must deliver an optimal service mix to satisfy the needs of different passenger typologies. This requires an adequate transformation of the voice of the customer with respect to different profiles. Hence, the first aim of this study is to distinguish the preferences of different passenger profiles at airports by examining their choice of retail stores, F&B services, and entertainment activities. The second aim of the study is to determine the relative importance of factors that affect passengers’ airport purchase behavior and transform them into recommendations for distinct airport strategies.Today, a significant part of airports' revenues is derived from support services such as retail stores, food and beverage (F&B) services, and entertainment activities. These services are also vital for enhancing passenger experience, which plays a major role as arbiter of airport success. There are different typologies of passengers, and a successful airport must deliver an optimal service mix to satisfy the needs of different passenger typologies. This requires an adequate transformation of the voice of the customer with respect to different profiles. Hence, the first aim of this study is to distinguish the preferences of different passenger profiles at airports by examining their choice of retail stores, F&B services, and entertainment activities. The second aim of the study is to determine the relative importance of factors that affect passengers’ airport purchase behavior and transform them into recommendations for distinct airport strategies.