Airmall Business Plan: Shopping on the Fly

During February 2015, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that North American airlines were the standout performers among developed economies. Up to 2 million people a day board aircraft for business and leisure travel.

Many of those people spend hours in the airport waiting for planes to depart, and many non-passengers spend hours in the airport waiting for family, friends, and business associates to arrive. Airports also have a large number of employees and contracted workers who are potential customers.

Unique Business Opportunity – business plan for airmall

The opportunities to offer a shopping experience to airmall browsers are unlimited. Everything from clothes to food to magazines is sold in leased retail space, restaurants, and kiosks. The specialty retailers cater to travelers, employees, and visitors. The business plan for an airmall enterprise is similar to the retail business plan or the restaurant business plan, except that there are unique factors to address:

• Products and services – The items or services sold must be geared towards people who are mostly on the go. For example, many only have hand luggage available and are not interested in carrying large items in their hands because of the need to pull luggage.

Food establishments need to offer a variety of foods that can address the needs of people who must eat quickly and people who have long wait times or are meeting local people for business or personal reasons.

Specialty retailers sell souvenirs, health and personal care products, gifts, keepsakes, books, toys, audio-visual, snacks, water and soft drinks, seasonal items, and many others.

• Customer demographics – Merchandise and food retailers need to do an in-depth analysis of the customer demographics. Unlike a fixed store location, the customers are transient and coming from numerous locations.

However, each airport serves a defined market. If a large percentage of the passengers fly from Atlanta to New York, or are international travelers, the retailer can cater to their needs based on demographic studies.

• Location – There are two locations to consider – the airport and the location within the airport. Large airports have more than one terminal with each one serving a particular type of passenger, i.e. international versus regional or value flier versus business fliers.

Some terminals are open 24-hours per day, while others close during the evening shift. These are the types of issues that impact the airmall enterprise in many ways – type of items sold, hours of operation, staffing needs, etc.

• Marketing plan – Marketing an airmall business depends mostly on visual merchandising. The captive customer base makes marketing outside the airport unnecessary, unless the retailer has a chain of stores or restaurants outside the airport.

• Operating and staffing plans – There are many up-and-down fluctuations in the number of passengers due to holidays, athletic events, concerts, business events and so on. The airmall business or businesses needs an operating plan that keeps the business successful during periods of low and high sales.

There are many other considerations. For example, product and service pricing is controlled by airport management. Also, the entrepreneur can start a single business in leased airport space or start a mall in one or more airports that need retail and food establishments.

Good Business Planning Nets Airport Approval

The business plan for an airmall must be thorough, high-quality, and demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the unique situation presented in an airport. The quality of the business plan is a major determinant as to whether airport management approves or disapproves business startup. It is also critical to securing investors or bank loans.

Given the many unique considerations, the best advice is to take advantage of the expertise of OGS Capital professionals during development of the business plan for an airmall business. Simply submit the online contact form to begin the process.

Download Sample Business Plan for Airmall: Shopping on the Fly in pdf

Professional OGS capital writers specialized also in themes such as business planning for airport development, helicopter business plan, business plan food delivery service, services of self storage companies business plan, sample hotspot business plan, starting drop shipping business, etc.