TheMoodieReport.com

TheMoodieReport.com: "The Moodie Report Travel Retail Website of the Year

The Moodie Report Travel Retail Website of the Year

Since The Moodie Report launched its Travel Retail WebWide Index in November 2005 we have accumulated around 400 travel retail websites (or web pages within a master site) for retailers, airports and airlines around the world. The Moodie Report Travel Retail Web Awards were designed to incentivise companies to exploit the power of the web – and to recognise those that are doing so.

The judges' remit was to judge each offer from the perspective of a travelling consumer. That hypothetical consumer was surfing various websites, looking for help and advice on what shopping items the retailers offer and how much their items cost – plus any other helpful information (allowances, regulations etc) that is available.

The five short-listed sites were: Brasif; British Airways; Cathay Pacific Airways; Downtown Duty Free and Korean Air.

The winner, Cathay Pacific Airways, offers a pre-order facility (up to 21 days before departure), promotions aplenty and even some items exclusive to website users. Impressively you can download the full catalogue. There are lots of nice touches throughout the site, including an Amazon.com-like ‘See also’ once the user has clicked on an item. The duty free allowances section is the best we have seen – beautifully laid out by various Cathay destinations rather than a simple country list.

This year Cathay celebrates its 60th anniversary and the airline is using the landmark as both a promotional focus and a sales opportunity. There’s even a Bas Armagnac 1946 available (pre-order only) to recognise the achievement. An outstanding site.

Highly commended Downtown Duty Free was also very impressive. Its tagline reads: “It’s online. It’s duty free. Go for it.” And we reckon plenty of people will, thanks to this great website that pulls no punches in a typically up-front Aussie manner. From the duty free ‘hotline’ to the latest news on the security crisis and its impact on carry-on items, this site screams immediacy and user friendliness.

There’s an easy-to-use pre-order facility for both Arrivals and Departures and plenty of other incentives to shop. These include an ‘international price guarantee’ which assures the traveller of a lower price than at Auckland, Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo airports. “After your purchase, if you find a lower price on the selected lines(s) within seven days, we will refund you double the difference,” it says.

Price offers and promotions abound and you feel as if you are in the hands of a retailer which, though loud and brash, you can trust. The products are neatly presented by category, brand and price point though there is a lack of information on the items – a rare shortcoming in an otherwise complete site. Allowances, a store locator and even a consumer advice A–Z for travel round out an outstanding online service.