“A wake-up call”: Blueprint highlights how airport shopping is at a structural turning point

According to the consultancy, shifting shopping patterns are increasingly fueled by the transformative rise in Gen Z shoppers and AI-powered technologies

“Airport shopping has shifted permanently; this is a wake-up call” says Blueprint Partner Thomas Kaneko Henningsen following the consultancy’s attendance at the recent Trinity Forum in Doha.

“This shift is increasingly fueled by the transformative rise in Gen Z shoppers and AI-powered technologies. It should send shivers down our spines because when these two megatrends intertwine it requires a new travel retail playbook.”

Airport retail remains largely analogue in a digitally accelerated world. It has historically relied on a simple yet highly successful formula: traffic × dwell time × impulse × duty-free pricing. In other words; sell cheaper, sell more, sell faster.

According to the Copenhagen-based travel retail consultancy Blueprint, that formula which has been relevant for decades no longer guarantees conversion and spend as airports increasingly welcome Gen Z. These younger mobile-first shoppers are forecasted to become the biggest traveler profile by 2028 and their appetite for AI-powered shopping is accelerating. This customer profile isn’t just an enigma that airports struggle to crack, they are a preview of what is happening: the transformation of airport shopping.

Gen Z Is Not Emerging. They Are Already Dominant.

Gen Z’s arrival in the global marketplace coincided with the explosion of smartphones and social media along with geopolitical instability and unpredictable geoeconomic headwinds like inflation, rising interest rates and a tough job market.

Yet Gen Z’s spending power is expected to grow to $12 trillion by 2030 and is on track to become the largest and most powerful consumer generation in history. By 2030, they're expected to wield $36 trillion in income, skyrocketing to $74 trillion by 2040.

This generation represents 32% of the global population and 40% of global consumers, making Gen Z the driving force of growth in retail commerce.

PwC’s analysis from 2025 deliver striking insights on Gen Z:

• 61% prefer discovering products in-store but that discovery journey begins digitally.

• 79% wait for products to go on sale, and only 21% regularly pay full price.

• 82% plan to purchase less expensive alternatives (commonly known as “dupes”).

• 63% plan to shop for vintage or upcycled products.

“We don’t go shopping, we scroll into it” says Blueprint Gen Z associate Afsara Mukith. “For Gen Z, discovery is no longer driven by search engines but by algorithms, where social media platforms, especially TikTok, act as both inspiration and storefront. Influencers, ads, and organic content all blend into one seamless experience, making it easier than ever to move from seeing a product to buying it in seconds. It’s this constant, content-led exposure that gives social media such power shaping not just what we buy, but how and when we decide to buy it.”

Travel retail becomes a natural extension of the digital journey. Social media creates the intent, and the physical stores becomes the moment of conversion.

Whether it’s spotting a product seen on social media platforms or recognizing a brand and its story from an influencer, Gen Z shoppers are interacting with travel retail in a more intentional, informed way. This group of travelling shoppers expect seamless, mobile-connected experiences that mirror the speed and convenience of the digital content platforms they use every day.

Mobile-First Shoppers

With 94% of Gen Z owning at least one smartphone and spending up to an average of six hours a day on their phones, mobile phones are not devices, they are algorithm-driven content platforms.

According to Forbes last year, Gen Z research concluded:

• 97% use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration.

• 43% starting their product searches on TikTok over traditional search engines.

• 50% of shoppers on TikTok have made purchases from brands they first encountered on the platform.

• 70% have made purchases on Instagram and 63% on TikTok, well ahead of any other generation.

With Gen Z social commerce is forecasted to increase by an average of 31% annually until 2030, their shopping habits are shaping the future of airport retail.

When Travel Retail Marries Gen Z and AI

“Gen Z and AI are a match made in heaven” comments Blueprint Partner Sonja Soskic. “Digital and physical no longer exist in isolation. If airport shopping cannot converse with Gen Z’s tech savvy lifestyles, you are speaking a language these customers no longer understand.”

The convergence of Gen Z behavior and AI capability is not incremental change. It is structural transformation that will be led by those who design airport experience around AI intelligence from the start unlocking critical growth in the decade ahead.

Below are examples of how Gen Z and AI megatrends intertwine and how the travel retail channel can win over the AI-powered shopping lifestyle.

Cross-Industry AI Innovation Labs: Airport community teams up and jointly strategize on how to implement AI to engage younger customers.

Customer Intelligence Platforms: Airport community shares and collaborates on privacy-compliant data that integrate Gen Z lifestyles and turn their in-terminal transactions into actionable insights.

Unique Pre-Departure Experiences: Increase dwell time by promoting AI-curated hyper-personalized shopping experiences encouraging Gen Z to arrive earlier at the airport.

AI Shopping Assistants: Conversational AI proactively identifies and highlights Gen Z-friendly products available in airports.

Social Media Collaborations: Leverage bloggers’ and influencers’ commercial content as seen on social commerce platforms and promote their products in-store.

Streaming Services Collaborations: Team up with leading streaming services and transfer on-screen products and experiences into the terminal.

Social-Native Zones: Build in-terminal community spaces optimized for livestreaming and digital engagement.

Frictionless Checkout: Biometric payment, AI-assisted self-checkout and mobile-first transaction flows reduce queue anxiety.

These are a few examples of the initiatives, the Blueprint consultancy advises the travel retail community to consider going forward.

“Gen Z is not just the biggest customer profile in the future; they are a strategic opportunity that will reshape how we define airport shopping. That’s why AI-powered intelligence is a new currency. Younger travelers increasingly expect shopping environments that think for them. If we ignore their logic, we risk becoming irrelevant to the very commerce we chase,” says Kaneko-Henningsen.