On January 24, Mars Wrigley International Travel Retail (MWITR) and ARI officially launched the first transaction zone partnership within travel retail, cutting the ribbon on installations in Dublin. At Dublin Airport’s terminals 1 and 2, travelers can find the new queue-system, and manned transaction zones, including an optimized cross category portfolio to better fulfil the traveler’s needs.  

As shared during TFWA World Exhibition in October this year, the transaction zone area is one of the key focus areas for MWITR. Around 500 million travelers buy products in travel retail every year; this creates 500 million opportunities, while checking-out, to drive incremental purchases. Many of these travelers are looking for rewarding and recharging moments of self-consumption to help them on their journey, and the opportunity for the confectionery category, as well as others, when well executed, is clear.

“I am thrilled that in close collaboration with our long-term partners at ARI we are bringing our first transaction zones of such scale in travel retail to life at Dublin airport. Unlocking the potential of the transaction zone will enable us to further grow the confectionery category within our channel and inspire more moments of happiness for travelers globally,” says Marcus Hudson, sales director MWITR.

“We are delighted to unveil these innovative transaction zones at our stores in Dublin Airport. We believe that convenient and accessible touchpoints such as these can elevate the travel experience for our customers”, says Paul Hunnisett, ARI Global Head of Liquor, Tobacco, Confectionery, and Souvenirs. “Working with our close partners at MWITR on this project has been an enjoyable and rewarding initiative. We eagerly anticipate the positive response from our customers in Dublin, with implementation of new transactional zones in our stores in Larnaca, Cyprus as well.”

The right offer at every relevant touchpoint

Purchases made within the transaction zone are often highly impulse-driven and for immediate self-consumption. To meet specific traveler needs, the new approach includes new innovations to drive incremental sales within the snacking category. These include Hubba Bubba, and new formats of Extra within the Gum category, along with the addition of healthier snacks with Be-Kind. 

Part of a big global roll-out in 2024

The launch at Dublin airport will be the first of many transaction zone areas that will be rolled out globally in 2024 within the channel. “Our goal is that by the end of 2024 we will have many such bold transaction zones implementations, as well as a more consistent and effective transaction zone strategy in place in every airport. Working closely with our retail partners across the globe, we believe that with our transaction zones, MWITR can turn the traditional point-of-sale/cash till area into a significant revenue generator for travel retailers, supporting a category conversion growth of over 20% in the next years,” adds Hudson.