how much more Gen Z and Millennials combined now spend in airport retail than Gen X and Boomers combined.

Gen Z and Millennials already out-spend everyone else combined. Most ranging decisions still aren't built around them.

This one barely comes up in buyer conversations right now, and I think it needs to more. The passenger mix moving through travel retail is changing fast, and it's already changed more than the fixture reflects. Not a criticism of anyone, more an observation that the buyers who get ahead of this early have a genuine advantage over those who don't.

The numbers are stark

Gen Z and Millennials combined now spend 3.5 times more than Gen X and Boomers combined in airport retail. Within that, Gen Z travellers are four times more likely than Boomers to buy electronics specifically, and the millennial and Gen Z leisure travel cohort is projected to grow at a 10.87% compound annual rate through 2031, comfortably outpacing the wider market. This isn't a future trend to plan around eventually, it's the current spend base.

Sustainability sits inside that same shift. Deloitte's 2026 Travel Industry Outlook finds 42% of Gen Z and 38% of Millennial travellers now take sustainability-related actions when planning trips, roughly double the rate of Baby Boomers. That's not a niche preference on the margins, it's close to half of the fastest-growing, highest-spending group in the channel.

Where the fixture hasn't caught up

From my view, I think that a lot of buyers, understandably, are still optimising for the 55+ high-spending traveller who's reliably filled the fixture for years. That's not an unreasonable instinct given how the category has historically worked. But price still dominates the ranging conversation more than passenger mix does, and the passenger mix has already moved further than most ranges have. Gen Z will be the primary driver of travel retail spend within a decade, arguably sooner. Buyers who start adjusting for that now aren't chasing a trend, they're getting ahead of where their own footfall is already heading.

Worth a look at your own range through this lens. If it would help to talk through how your current mix stacks up against where the spend is actually heading, reply and let's talk it through.

A bit more info, as always.

Adam

Commercial Director · Bitmore · adam@bitmore.co.uk