According to Oliver Wyman Travel Retail Pulse, average global beauty sales per passenger decreased by 8.4% per year between 2023 and 2025 compared to a 0.5% decrease for other categories. However, when excluding APAC, beauty has actually been driving travel retail sales growing at a 4.3% CAGR between 2023 and 2025 compared to a 1% CAGR for other categories.
Several demand drivers in APAC have declined simultaneously. Consumers in China have been less active in premium/luxury purchases. Meanwhile, better options at home and competitive pricing reduce the motive to buy in travel retail. In addition, the crackdown on daigou, which refers to buying goods abroad for resale, decreased bulk purchasing, especially in South Korea.
Expansion in low cost carriers has attracted travelers with different profiles than the channel’s usual consumers leading to a passenger growth has been quicker than that of spending. Excluding daigou, APAC travel retail sales were 17% lower in 2025 even with passenger traffic up 6% compared to pre-pandemic.
And beauty has suffered disproportionately as fragrances and cosmetics made up 44% of APAC travel retail sales in 2025, compared to only 25% in Europe. This high exposure to Asia is what skews overall beauty performance negatively.
On the contrary Europe has benefited from a more affluent passenger mix, including visitors from the US and Asia-Pacific, and investment in airport shops. Travel retail sales rose 20% between 2019 and 2025 against passenger growth of 5%. Retailers have been able to sell more per traveler, and beauty has outperformed the wider channel outside APAC.
For beauty brands, this global decrease in sales should not be used as a basis for uniform investment cuts. Airports where beauty sales per passenger are rising offer more scope to invest in product trials, consultation and new launches while APAC needs a more attractive offer for individual shoppers. With 59% of travelers purchasing beauty for themselves, brands and retailers should go beyond replenishment or gift purchases and focus on fragrance sampling and mini-size products that create an incentive for travelers to try something new without investing a lot of money into the purchase.
