China Trading Desk: 65% of Chinese travelers driven by Xiaohongshu/Douyin promotions at airports

China Trading Desk (CTD) has released findings from its Q4 2025 China Outbound Travel Survey, showing that airport shopping is now a mainstream travel behavior - but turning intent into revenue will hinge on conversion strategy, not awareness alone.

In Q4 2025, 64.4% of surveyed travelers say they are likely or very likely to shop at the airport. Yet CTD’s findings highlight a large, commercially decisive swing segment: 26% remain undecided, creating a clear opportunity for airports, retailers and brands to capture incremental baskets by reducing friction at the moment of purchase.

“Airport travel retail is no longer a demand question, it’s an execution question,” said Subramania Bhatt, Founder & CEO, China Trading Desk. “The job is to convert a large intent pool by showing the right products to the right travelers, early enough in the journey, with a checkout experience that is fast, confident, and defensible.”

Conversion is shaped upstream: social creates intent, price and trust close it

The survey indicates that social content can push travelers towards airport shopping: 65% say that promotions on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin make them more likely to shop. But CTD warns that influence alone won’t secure purchase: 98% of travelers compare prices against online channels, which means airports and brands must win with price logic, exclusives, and clear value, not just visibility.

The findings also reinforce the continuing importance of human service in high-choice categories. 75% of travelers say staff assistance is important when purchasing duty-free products, underlining that conversion is often decided in the final meters: consultation, reassurance, and speed.

The best conversion pool sits with repeat and premium-leaning travelers

While near-term outbound travel remains stable (22.9% plan to travel within three months (+0.44pp QoQ), the airport retail opportunity concentrates among travelers most predisposed to convert. CTD’s segmentation shows frequent travelers deliver 72.3% airport retail propensity (1.12× lift), while HNWIs deliver 71.2% (1.11× lift).

What this means for airports, retailers and brand partners

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 as the next major travel peak, the conversion window is already opening. Travelers may still book late, but they build their shortlist earlier – so airports and brands should seed airport shopping plans upstream (creator and travel-app ecosystems), then close in-store with price clarity, brand findability, and fast pickup for time-pressed shoppers.

“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 travelers are in the store.”