China Trading Desk says closing conversion gap crucial to capturing Chinese outbound traveller spend
- China Trading Desk
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
By Ameesha Raizada
Published January 7, 2026
China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q4 2025 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that 64.4% of Chinese outbound travellers are likely or very likely to shop at the airport.
While the report confirms airport retail as mainstream behaviour, it also identifies a large, commercially decisive swing segment.
About 26% of travellers remain undecided, signalling that future revenue growth will depend on conversion strategy rather than awareness alone.
According to CTD, this presents a clear opportunity for airports, retailers and brands to capture incremental baskets by reducing friction at the point of purchase.
“Airport travel retail is no longer a demand question, it’s an execution question,” said CTD Founder & CEO Subramania Bhatt.
“The job is to convert a large intent pool by showing the right products to the right travellers, early enough in the journey, with a checkout experience that is fast, confident and defensible.”
From intent to conversion
The survey highlights that social platforms play a material role in shaping intent, with 65% of travellers saying promotions on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin make them more likely to shop at the airport. However, CTD cautions that influence alone is insufficient to secure purchase.
Price competitiveness remains critical, with 98% of travellers comparing airport prices against online channels. CTD said this reinforces the need for clear value propositions built around pricing logic, exclusives and differentiated offers, rather than visibility alone.
Human service also continues to play a decisive role in high-choice categories. Some 75% of travellers said staff assistance is important when purchasing duty-free products, underlining that conversion is often decided at the final stage through consultation, reassurance and speed of service.
Optimising the shopper journey
Near-term outbound travel intent remains stable, with 22.9% of respondents planning to travel within the next three months, up 0.44 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.
However, CTD said the airport retail opportunity is concentrated among travellers with higher conversion propensity. Its segmentation shows that frequent travellers record a 72.3% likelihood of shopping at the airport, while high-net-worth individuals show a 71.2% likelihood.
CTD’s recommended playbook for Q1 2026 focuses on closing the “conversion gap”:
Win the shortlist before arrival by connecting creator-led discovery with product availability and shopping lists
Convert the undecided with brand-finder tools, clear price communication and reserve-to-pickup flows
Lead with conversion categories (notably beauty and fragrances) and expand baskets through gifting, travel sizes and airport-only bundles
Treat service as revenue infrastructure, not just brand theatre, given the 75% importance placed on staff assistance
With Chinese New Year approaching as the next major travel peak, CTD noted that the conversion window is already opening.
While booking decisions may still be made late, shopping shortlists are formed earlier, suggesting that airports and brands need to engage travellers upstream through creator and travel-app ecosystems, and focus on price clarity, product findability and fast pickup in-store.
“They’re already searching,” Bhatt added. “The winners will be the operators and brands that show up early enough to make the shortlist, then close the purchase when travellers are in the store.”