Adani Airport Holdings Ltd and MakeMyTrip are taking airport retail a step earlier in the travel journey. The two companies today said international flyers can now pre-book duty-free products online before they even reach the airport, shifting a traditionally last-minute purchase into the trip planning phase.

The service allows travellers to browse and reserve items across more than 10 categories, spanning over 100 brands and 14,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), through the MakeMyTrip platform. It will be available for both departures and arrivals, with pick-up at airports operated by Adani Airport Holdings.

The move comes as travel platforms look to deepen engagement beyond bookings and into adjacent spends. By nudging travellers to decide purchases in advance, the companies are aiming to cut time spent inside airport retail zones while also driving higher conversion on duty-free sales.

Arun Bansal, chief executive officer of Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, said the integration is designed to simplify the shopping experience. “By enabling duty-free pre-booking through MakeMyTrip, we are bringing more convenience to international travellers. The integration allows travellers to plan purchases in advance, save time at the airport, and access curated offers, making the duty-free experience simpler and more rewarding.”

Moving duty-free from impulse to planned spend

Traditionally, duty-free shopping has relied on impulse buying, often constrained by time before boarding or after arrival. The companies are betting that earlier decision-making could lead to more considered purchases and better time management at airports.

“By moving shopping decisions to the trip planning stage, the initiative is designed to reduce time spent browsing and queuing at the airport,” the companies said in a joint statement. Travellers can “make more informed choices earlier, improving time management from check-in through boarding and arrival.”

Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, said the partnership fits into the company’s broader push to integrate services across the travel lifecycle. “This association is a natural extension of our Connected Trips strategy, which is centred on building a seamless, end-to-end travel experience. This collaboration gives international travellers the ability to plan smarter, make informed choices, and save more, simply by booking duty-free purchases in advance.”

Adani Airport Holdings currently operates duty-free outlets across six airports including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur and Thiruvananthapuram. The company manages eight airports overall, including the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport.

For MakeMyTrip, which reports over 87 million lifetime transacted users, the addition expands its role from a booking platform to a broader travel marketplace. The company said the service will be rolled out in phases, with additional features expected over time.

The partnership shows a wider shift in travel, where platforms are trying to capture more value per user by bundling services, while airport operators look to increase non-aeronautical revenue through digital channels. Earlier this month, AAHL, in partnership with Blinkit, had launched India’s first in-terminal quick commerce service at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai. The service is available at Terminal 2, domestic departures for now.