The Q1 High Net Worth Traveller Surveys have now been uploaded to client sites.
Today’s briefing focuses on the rapidly changing Luxury Shopping landscape across the world’s airports with a snapshot of the views of this quarter’s 1000 strong affluent Chinese traveller panel.
All participants in this latest poll had over CNY 6 million investable funds and had travelled by air internationally at least once during the past three months.
The Luxury Index
During the course of the last year there have been some dramatic developments in the sheer number of Luxury and Super Luxury stand alone boutique openings taking place at the world’s largest airports.
Back in 2023 Europe’s airports led the field for the number of Luxury airside boutiques but this year there has been a marked shift towards Asia/Pacific where some 46% of the world’s airside Super Luxury boutiques are now to be found. Europe’s airports account for a further 37% of these stand alone boutiques with the Middle East, largely driven by Doha rather than Dubai, takes a 9% share.
There is a concentration of these Luxury brand boutiques at a relatively small number of key airports, not all of which are necessarily the biggest or the fastest growing as far as the HNW Chinese international traveller is concerned.
The leading global terminal for Luxury Shop count is however spot on target. Hong Kong’s Terminal 1 had 41 stand alone luxury outlets in the latest audit and the terminal is also the largest, outside mainland China, for the number of very wealthy Chinese mainlanders using the terminal as a springboard to international destinations.
Taking the global airside Super Luxury boutique count as the benchmark this quarter Gucci has risen to top place, a whisker ahead of Hermès, and both with around a 6% global market share. Burberry, once the global leader, has dropped to joint third place with Bvlgari while Bottega Veneta enters the top 5 for the first time.
The vast majority of Luxury and Super Luxury stand alone boutiques are in the Fashion category. The latest survey identified no fewer than 292 airside Super Luxury fashion boutiques and a further 138 in the Aspirational Luxury Fashion bracket. New to the survey is the rise in both Luxury branded Alcohol and Confectionery stand alone stores, each of which now takes a 3% share of this growing market.
In brand ownership terms there is one distinct leader. Super Luxury brands under the LVMH umbrella took a 26% share of all stand alone airside boutiques this quarter.
The Discerning Luxury Chinese Shopper
Over the course of the past year affluent Chinese traveller attitudes to airport shopping have evolved considerably. In the latest March poll some 53% of those interviewed said they did not visit any airside shops during their last international trip and the biggest reason cited for this was lack of time, a constraint that has risen significantly over the past four quarterly surveys. The fastest growing reason for non-purchase among this elite group however is the “avoidance of conspicuous consumption†which resonates with the rapidly changing attitudes in China towards Luxury purchases in general.
The good news for retailers is that of those who did go into one of the Luxury brand boutiques the conversion rate was high and especially so among the older segment of the survey population. Some 70% of those aged over 50 who visited a Luxury airside boutique came away with a purchase on their last trip.
Despite Hong Kong airport providing the largest number of Luxury airside boutiques it was Singapore that affluent Chinese travellers rated as the best place to do their airport shopping. Singapore also rose to the top position ahead of Japan in terms of the destination these wealthy travellers want to visit on their next trip. The USA fell back into ninth position from third place at the end of last year while Italy came back into the top five most favoured destinations, just a whisker ahead of Australia.
Luxury male Chinese travellers in this latest poll would like to see more of the globally recognised luxury retailers while female travellers want not just big name luxury retailers but a bigger clothing offer than is currently available.
They all want pricing that they deem reliable and trustworthy. Commentary from respondents in this latest Q1 2025 survey featured several complaints about over pricing for luxury goods that have become so well known that they almost cease to be considered luxury at all. Under the "Big Retailers" heading are a large number of requests for more Chinese and Asian luxury brands as well as brands that these discerning consumers can rely upon for genuine local craftsmanship and attention to detail.
A stubborn 8% of male respondents thought airports would be better if there were a good deal fewer shops than at present but females were much more accommodating and female Chinese travellers do of course comfortably outnumber their male counterparts.
For further information on the Air4casts Luxury Shopper Surveys covering Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South Korean High Net Worth travellers please contact Emma Wiseman or Jane Robinson here.
