DESIRE AT DEPARTURE
Rethinking Global Travel Retail as a Playground for Discovery
New Wonderworks Insight Report
Airports aren’t just gateways – they’re becoming cultural playgrounds. Global Travel Retail (GTR) is evolving from transactional to emotional, creating spaces where discovery, storytelling, and serendipity collide. For drinks brands, this shift represents one of the most exciting canvases in modern marketing: a stage where every interaction can spark both a sale and a story.
Our latest Miramur Insight Report Vol. 05 – Desire at Departure explores how airports are transforming into hubs of experience and identity.
INSIDE, you’ll find:
1. Why emotional retail is the new competitive edge
Travellers today want more than convenience. They want experiences that make them feel something. Emotional retail now drives preference and purchase, setting new benchmarks for brand activation, storytelling, and creative expression. The report outlines how drinks brands can design moments that surprise, delight, and build long-term affinity through strategic creative strategies.
2. How Gen Z and Millennials are redefining airport experiences
Younger travellers aren’t shopping passively — they’re seeking serendipity, personalisation, and shareable moments. Their behaviours are reshaping the drinks category, demanding richer experiences, culturally relevant design, and intentional storytelling that feels modern and human.
3. The rise of ‘Desire Zones’
Curated “desire zones” are turning duty free into cultural theatre. From whisky emporiums to immersive luxury pop-ups, these spaces slow travellers down and invite them into brand worlds. For any drinks branding agency or beverage branding agency, these environments represent the new frontier of creativity and differentiation within GTR.
4. Sustainability signals every brand should watch
With 72% of global travellers preferring brands with visible sustainability commitments, conscious design has become a defining marker of luxury. The report highlights the sustainability cues that matter most — and how brands can communicate responsibility with clarity and credibility.
This report combines our own research, with insights from the front lines in some of the best airports across London, Edinburgh and New York to gather first-hand insights and exciting examples of brand activation. Our goal is to share the work and ideas that are inspiring us as an agency and capture a snapshot of the industry today – charged with a dynamic tension between tradition and transformation.
Download the full report here and unlock the strategies that will shape your next move
As creative experts in drinks and experiences, we love diving deep into insights to help brands stay bold, relevant, and culturally fluent in a rapidly changing world.
For more inspiration, please explore our other Insight Reports, examining themes such as Cracking Gen-Z and Prestige in the On-Premise.