Lagardère Travel Retail France has unveiled WeChat Pay at 14 duty free and fashion shops at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.

With 800 million users, the smartphone payment solution is already widely used in China, where more than 70% of transactions are now conducted via mobile devices.

With more and more Chinese tourists travelling to France and a forecast of 5 million visitors by 2020, the introduction of WeChat Pay is all part of the French airport’s strategy to cater for the growth in passengers travelling from Asia. Chinese sales advisers have also been recruited throughout the airport’s retail offerings, while airport signage has been translated into mandarin. Plus, a dedicated airport website has also been made available in mandarin, with access to arrival and departure information, links to tourist sites and information about VAT refunds.

Anne-Gael Normand, director of aeroboutique shopping operations at Lagardère Travel Retail France described the WeChat Pay solution as “a perfect fit with our promise to offer passengers entering our shops a creative, expert service which offers a simplified and pleasant shopping experience.”

Meanwhile, Dominique Thillaud, chairman of the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur added “we felt it was vitally important to improve our communication [for Chinese visitors arriving in Europe for the first time] and make their journey as fluid as possible. Lagardère Travel Retail France’s adoption of WeChat Pay is an additional step that shows that Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is now fully ready to welcome Chinese passengers arriving directly from China.”

Written by: Chloe Greenbank

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