Air India to offer pre-order duty-free shopping Air India, in partnership with Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), has announced the launch of a single digital platform offering online duty-free shopping to global travelers, allowing to browse, pre-order and pay for duty-free shopping before they arrive at the airport. The new service aims to enhance airport shopping experience for international flyers.
The new service will be added to Air India’s website and mobile app. Passengers will be able to browse products online, pay for them before their flights and then pick up the packed items from the duty-free counter at the participating airports.
Air India Duty-Free Shopping: How It Works
As per the new configuration, airIndia passengers will be able to use the duty-free shopping service via the Air India digital channels, where customers choose the airport of pickup, date and time before entering the product catalog and paying using the partner’s website.
Adani Digital Labs manages the service and passengers can access it on Air India’s website and app. This enables passengers to do the bulk of their shopping ahead of their journey and spend less time shopping the retail outlets in airports.
Pre-booking facilities will be available up to three hours before departure or arrival also, based on Air India’s present duty-free data.
Up to 25% Discounts on Duty-Free Products
Among the highlight features of the new platform is the introductory saving for customers. Air India said travellers will get up to 25% discount on certain duty-free items.
The digital catalogue includes a variety of popular categories such as fragrances, cosmetics, confectionery, consumer electronics and luxury beverages. The larger Adani One duty-free catalogue lists more than 14,000 products from Indian and global premium brands.
Travellers will be able to make purchases in advance and compare products – instead of lastminute airport shopping.
Maharaja Club Members Can Earn Reward Points
The alliance further links the duty-free shopping experience to the loyalty programme of the airline. This enables the members of the Maharaja Club to earn three Maharaja Points on every 100 spent on our qualifying duty-free transactions.
Here’s what is to know – Customers have to submit their Maharaja Club ID – nine digit valid at the time of process. Noted by Air India, the said points will be added within 45 – 60 days as per respective terms and conditions.
Loyalty is yet another dimension of online shopping that frequent flyers who qualify for the program can take advantage of to earn rewards when they buy things that are travel-related.
Which Airports Offer the Service?
The online duty-free shopping is available to passengers of participating Adani operated airports. Air India has listed Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Amritsar airports on its list of airports where online shopping is available.
According to Air India, the service is likely to be extended to more domestic and international airports in the subsequent phases.
A Push Towards Digital Airport Retail
The deal marks a change in how airports look at passenger services and non-aeronautical revenue. Adani Airports has been rolling out a number of digital services under the ‘Adani One’ umbrella including duty-free retail, airport services, parking, lounges, hotels and travel-booking.
Adani Enterprises has also emphasized the increasing importance of digital channels for the business at its airport retail operation, with digital customers of the future likely to account for greater repeat purchases and even larger spend.
Digital duty-free shopping could bring retail to life even before passengers arrive in the airport, benefitting airlines and airport operators.
What This Means for Air Travellers
For travelers it is the greater ease of use. No longer do they have to peruse shelves in the airport, but can now shop from the comfort of their own homes and then collect the items on their way through the airport.
In high traffic airports, time is precious as there are limited time slots between security, immigration and boarding. Option is a family & friends friendly! And the family or friends of passengers can also share their shopping bag before checkout.
The Air India-Adani Airports online duty-free shopping platform, developed in partnership with Global Blue, represents a further movement towards the convergence of e-commerce, airport retail and customer loyalty in the air travel and duty-free shopping space. Coupled with pre-ordering, digital payments, discounts and airport pickup, it aims to embed duty-free shopping more seamlessly into the journey.
