Qatar Duty Free's Thabet Musleh talks data-driven decisions

Qatar Duty Free (QDF) is capitalizing on its position within Qatar Airways Group to deploy technology that creates a continuous optimization loop across Hamad International Airport. The Trinity model, which encompasses the airline, airport and retailer, enables data integration unavailable to traditional travel retailers, providing insights into passenger demographics, booking patterns and shopping behavior that inform real-time operational decisions.

Thabet Musleh, whose first year as Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer has focused on leveraging this advantage across multiple divisions including lounges, catering, retail, F&B and hotel operations, sees the model’s value in speed and integration. “We have a unique capacity to harness the airline, the airport and the retailer to spot opportunities faster and create a seamless flow across commercial marketing,” Musleh says.

36Q drives brand adoption

Approximately 40 to 50% of top brands have fully integrated with the 36Q platform since its launch earlier this year. The cloud-based solution provides daily performance data accessible through browser login, enabling brands to track previous day sales and consumer behavior patterns.

Initial adoption proved challenging due to brand perceptions about data sharing and platform complexity. Early adopters have reported significant benefits, however, creating competitive pressure among brands observing market share shifts.

“If I’m brutally honest, it’s been tough to get all the brands on board,” Musleh says. “But the brands that have it are absolutely in love with the platform, see the benefits and are really working now to improve their business.”

Brands without platform access can observe competitors gaining market share through data-informed merchandising and promotional strategies. This visibility has accelerated adoption requests. Musleh says. “They can see that they’re losing market share because other brands are understanding how to grow the business, how to grow the category.”

The platform aggregates data from Qatar Airways booking systems and Hamad International Airport operational systems with QDF transaction data. This integration reveals consumer demographics, purchase locations, origins, destinations, age, gender and promotion engagement patterns.

“Because of our unique position as the Trinity, with information from our airlines, Qatar Airways, as well as Hamad International Airport, we get insights into our passengers and our consumers at our stores at a level that no other travel retailer in the world can get,” Musleh explains.

Brand partners access comprehensive consumer profiles showing who their customers are, where they are shopping, product preferences and typical purchasing behavior. The platform transforms this data into actionable insights for merchandising, promotion timing and inventory decisions. “It’s revolutionary. It will become a game changer. I’m very confident because no other airport, no other retailer, nobody else can give the brands what we can give them,” Musleh says. “And that’s real-time data in terms of who has bought their products, when, where, how.”

Improving the user experience

QDF launched 36Q 2.0 based on feedback gathered from initial brand partners over several months of platform operation. The update addresses user experience pain points and adds analytical capabilities requested by partners.

“We’ve added more information, more visuals to get deeper insight,” Musleh explains. “We’ve added subcategories on brand market shares so that they get a better idea of their performance, as well as trend lines and product status to better track performance.”

One significant addition enables comparative performance analysis within product categories. “We uploaded an entire new page simply for benchmarking so they understand how they’re performing within their subcategories,” Musleh says.

The platform also addresses navigation challenges that emerged during initial use. “We’ve improved user experience by adding smarter filters, making it clearer what you’re filtering by, whether that’s by demographic or by subcategory, brand or promotion type,” Musleh says.

The iterative development approach includes mechanisms for continuous partner input. “We’ve created a central place for people to add their feedback,” Musleh adds. “So how are they enjoying their experiences with our platform, how can we improve, what would they like to see and better in their future versions, so that we can constantly iterate.”

Zoning cameras track passenger flow and engagement

The retailer is piloting zoning cameras in core food and confectionery, liquor and tobacco stores. The technology utilizes Hamad International Airport’s existing camera infrastructure, eliminating the need for new hardware installation.

The pilot program focuses on the high-traffic store on the left when passengers first enter the retail area and encounter the yellow teddy bear landmark. This location provides robust data for validating methodology before broader deployment.

The system measures conversion at multiple stages. Initial tracking captures the ratio of passengers moving past stores versus those entering, revealing store attraction effectiveness. Once passengers enter, zone-level tracking identifies which areas they visit first and engagement duration.

Cross-conversion analysis reveals shopping basket composition patterns. “So, if I go to tobacco first, do I go to liquor next or do I go to P&C next or do I just stay in tobacco?” Musleh explains. “And we can funnel our passenger and our visitors to go through the store and all the way to checkout.”

The end-to-end visibility from the store entrance to checkout counter reveals total shopping journey effectiveness and identifies dropout points requiring intervention. Qatar Duty Free uses these insights to optimize merchandising placement and promotional display positioning.

“This allows us to create better opportunities for our brand partners, understanding how the visitors are engaging with the current stands, the stalls, the promotions on display and identifying ways where we can drive more engagement,” Musleh says.

Recommended gate allocation via AI

Qatar Duty Free has deployed AI models that analyze incoming flights carrying transit passengers and recommend optimal gate allocations to maximize commercial dwell time. The system integrates Qatar Airways booking data with 36Q consumer behavior insights and historical performance patterns.

For a Shanghai to New York flight transiting through Doha, for example, the AI identifies passenger demographics including the percentage of female Chinese travelers aged 30 to 50. The system references 36Q data on this demographic’s shopping preferences and historic purchase patterns.

“We know who our passengers are and because of our 36Q platform we already have all the information about that demographic,” Musleh says. “We know which products they like and which stores they like to shop in.”

Artificial intelligence analyzes historical data correlating gate positions with commercial performance for specific demographics, allowing for never-thought-of personalization that can increase both sales and satisfaction. “We utilize our AI model to look at historic data which shows that landing at, for example, Gate A3 boosts commercial dwell time and places passengers closest to their preferred perfume and cosmetic store that’s popular with the particular demographic,” Musleh says.

Once optimal gate allocation is determined, the system has the potential to display targeted promotions for the arriving demographic on digital screens in transit halls. For instance, a happy hour promotion or limited time offer can capture the attention of passengers from the moment they touch down.

The strategic gate placement reduces passenger stress by positioning them near relevant stores without requiring rushes to distant gates for connecting flights. This stress reduction directly improves shopping behavior.

“Now that their gate is actually close to the store, that removes that stress element of rushing to get to your next gate, so you don’t miss your transit flight,” Musleh says. “That improves the consumer experience at Qatar Duty Free because they’re allowed to go through the store and shop at ease without that stress component.”

It also improves the traveler experience at the airport. Passengers with extended dwell time and reduced anxiety browse more extensively. Additionally, staff encourage satisfied passengers to join Privilege Club, where members earn Avios on purchases and access perks on return flights.

Creating a holistic optimization loop

The three technologies create an integrated system. The 36Q platform identifies consumer preferences by demographic. AI models use that data to optimize gate placement for specific passenger groups. Zoning cameras reveal how those passengers interact with stores and displays, feeding insights back into 36Q for continuous optimization.

“Because of 36Q we know who our consumers are, what they like, with our AI project we can determine or encourage which gates that they will land in,” Musleh says. “And then with our zoning cameras we can see how they’re interacting within the store.”

This integrated approach extends beyond physical retail across digital screens, social media platforms and an upcoming e-commerce platform. Qatar Airways maintains over 45 million social media followers across platforms, creating distribution channels for targeted communications.

The company is targeting that by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, 40% of QDF sales will come from Privilege Club members, with members demonstrating 55% higher average transaction values compared to non-members. Qatar Duty Free deploys hyper-personalized marketing through the Qatar Airways app, e-mail and push notifications based on booking data.

“This is a hyper-personalized campaign we did with Oreo Café – you buy one Oreo milkshake and get a free meal for your kids,” Musleh says. “Because we’re working with our airlines, we can see who booked with a child and push those promotions to those people based off of their bookings and their programs.”

The e-commerce platform under development since early 2023 will complete the omnichannel ecosystem, with over 14,000 products and more than 40 individual brand boutiques. Orders placed via Starlink connectivity during flights can be collected at the airport with integrated Avios rewards.

“When you go online and you shop on Dior as an example, it will be no different from shopping on the Dior website,” Musleh says. “It will be a fully integrated brand boutique.”