Relationship between the terminal built environment and airport retail revenue

Abstract

Non-aeronautical business, including airport retail, is an essential source of airport revenue. The locations of retail stores in an airport terminal building significantly impact their revenue. Based on the retail store-level data from Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC), the traditional panel data regression and machine learning methods were employed to explore the relationships between the terminal built environment and airport retail revenue. The results indicate the following: (1) non-linear relationships exist between airport retail store revenue and the terminal built environment. (2) Airport passenger traffic is still the principal factor in retail store revenue. (3) Variables including area, function halls, and per capita spending have different impacts on the revenue of food and beverage (F&B) and specialty retail (SR) stores. The optimal location sites for retail stores are as far away from the nearest washroom as possible while being as close to gates as possible.