Since 15 September, passengers travelling through France’s second-busiest airport can shop online before their journey and collect their purchases at their preferred location within the terminals. This Europe-first solution, called Nice Airport Shopping, makes the passenger journey easier and enhances the overall quality of service.
Each year, more than 15 million passengers travel through the terminals of Nice Côte d’Azur Airport. Many do not have the time or luggage capacity to shop at the duty-free stores at their leisure. France’s second-busiest airport is addressing this by launching the first airport marketplace of its kind, enabling passengers to purchase their chosen products online up to eight hours before departure. They can then collect their purchases according to their preference: at the duty-free till, in a VIP lounge, or directly at the departure gate. The latter two collection options are not currently available at any other European airport but are offered at Singapore Changi and at many airports in the United States.
Passengers simply select the products they wish to purchase from a wide range of categories, including beauty and fragrance, fine foods and confectionery, and wines and spirits. Several payment methods are available, with all transactions securely processed. Once passengers have entered their destination and flight number, prices are automatically adjusted depending on whether VAT applies. They then simply select where they would like to collect their purchases.
“Nice Airport Shopping perfectly meets the needs of many passengers who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to make full use of our retail offering and are disappointed as a result. The service provides an unprecedented level of flexibility and service, allowing products to be collected either in a VIP lounge or directly at the departure gate. We already had a unique, high-end retail offering; we now have a service to match it,” explains Candice Cadreils, Commercial Director of Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur.
Within a very short time of the marketplace going live, the first purchases had already been made and collections completed in departure lounges, much to the passengers’ satisfaction.
For the time being, all 7,000 products available on the marketplace are sourced exclusively from the duty-free stores operated by Aelia Duty Free. Other retail operators at the airport may join the marketplace in the near future.
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