Points of Purchase: Silver Screens
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APEX Insight: From booking to post flight, the opportunities to buy while traveling are abundant. In Part Four of “Points of Purchase,” we look at the array of products and services passengers can purchase on embedded screens – without leaving their seats.
Advanced in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, especially those powered with connectivity, create new opportunities for airlines to redefine onboard retail. As airlines explore the possibilities, they are also helping to shape tomorrow’s IFE systems.
All Nippon Airways was first to look at the screen on the seat as more than a cinematic display in 2010, when it introduced a food and beverage order service via seatback screens. Virgin America launched a similar service on its Red IFE platform with a flirty twist: buying drinks for other passengers. By letting passengers keep an open tab in flight, Virgin simplified orders and boosted sales.
Other airlines offer light food and beverages on IFE systems, but some, like Japan Airlines and Lufthansa, have thought beyond snacks by selling duty-free items in flight via their wireless portals. Connectivity expands the number of products airlines can sell, facilitating cross-branded partnerships and making payments more secure, which gives airlines the confidence to sell higher-cost items.
The next big leap in airline retail could be personalized offers, using data gathered through IFE analytics.
“What is happening now with the new systems coming to the market is that we can now start to optimize ancillaries and loyalty,” Juha Järvinen, chief commercial officer, Finnair, said during a presentation at APEX TECH in June. Finnair fine-tuned the retail opportunities facilitated through Wi-Fi by forging unique partnerships with Finnish fashion houses Makia and Ivana Helsinki, selling outfits from their collections on the airline’s Nordic Sky Wi-Fi portal, accessible on seatback or personal electronic devices. The airline has also added Minna Parikka ladies’ shoes to complete the look.
“What is happening now with the new systems coming to the market is that we can now start to optimize ancillaries and loyalty.” €” Juha Järvinen, Finnair
The next big leap in airline retail could be personalized offers, using data gathered through IFE analytics. We’re not quite there yet, but watch this space. “It’s in a nascent phase across the industry,” says Cedric Rhoads, executive director, Corporate Sales and Product Management at Panasonic Avionics. “It’s definitely part of where we all want to get to.”
“Silver Screens” was originally published in the multipart feature, “Points of Purchase,” in the October/November issue of APEX Experience magazine.