| Summary: | This study deals with airport shopping behaviour of travellers in a departure lounge
with the major aim of providing a basis for future airport marketing activities. Due to
the increasing number of privatisations of airports profit maximization has been
gaining in importance. This can be more easily achieved by concentrating on nonaeronautical
income than aeronautical income, as these are more manageable by an
airport itself. One main source of income is made up of airport retailing.
Customers need to get a business’ full attention. Airport managers thus need to
concentrate on their passengers in order to improve non-aeronautical revenues.
Understanding their needs and desires helps to effectively develop marketing
strategies, which help to increase commercial income.
The dissertation focuses on main influences on airport shopping behaviour including
purchase involvement levels, impulse buying as the main purchasing behaviour at an
airport as well as tourist behaviour at an airport. A review of the literature on airport
development and airport shopping behaviour will be supported by data gained from
primary research in terms of intercept surveys in the departure lounge of Birmingham
Airport.
The findings revealed that most purchases made at the airport were of a low
involvement nature. Furthermore, most purchases were also made due to impulse
buying including planned impulse purchases. It is however, debatable in how far
impulse buying behaviour and involvement levels relate to each other. A special
tourist behaviour at an airport could not be exposed. Nevertheless, it is still an
important topic that should be further examined as most of the leisure travellers were
already in a holiday mood before they arrived at their destination. If tourist behaviour
has an influence on airport shopping airport marketing managers should focus on
making their holidays already start at the airport. Another issue to elaborate on is the
effective use of the tool of sales promotion in an airport in order to reach consumers
and increase non-aeronautical income.
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