Getting back to the OP, I recall reading somewhere that rich people are the ones who are most likely to buy stuff at the airport, which is why most of the retail outlets there are high end outlets.
I listened to a podcast once where they discussed this. (I can’t remember the podcast name). For the people departing, a common reason was to replace broken luggage. If your carry-on was broken, you could by a new one and throw away the old one. There were also people who buy enough souvenirs or whatever in the airport that they need a bag to hold it all. Even if you already had a carry-on, you might be able to gate check additional bags for a fee. For people arriving, common reasons were to buy additional luggage to hold stuff to take back home or to just buy a new luggage set to replace or upgrade their current luggage.
Here is a link to an interview with the CEO at the time about 9/11 and the knives.
Here is the relevant quote
“Our company has never been as hard-hit as it was by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington,” Elsener says. “We lost over 40% of our business. Airports sent vast quantities of the knife back to us.” However, Victorinox was able to absorb the losses without firing any employees. “Jobs have always been a main focus for us,” he says. “We really do see ourselves as a big family, in good times and bad.” Ibach, a small town located in central Switzerland ships 120,000 of its knives each day. There are 350 models to choose from, ranging from the standard knife to the Swisschamp with 33 functions. When 911 happened and the company lost close to half its sales, Victorinox loaned its workers to other businesses in the area. The company remained solvent through old-fashioned virtue “Saving for a rainy day,” Elsener says, “We always had reserves.”
So it was a big deal, and it happened because of 9/11.
Sometimes they have special items that you can’t get in their other stores. Once I dated a guy who was really into good whiskey. On a trip to Ireland I kept an eye out for a nice flight of various Irish whiskies for him to sample. Couldn’t find it anywhere as the companies just didn’t seem to be working together that way. But found the perfect thing at the Dulles liquor shop.
Also, if you’ve been planning to purchase a specific Hermes bag or scarf, saving the taxes on a purchase that large does actually make a difference. It’s like planning ahead to buy a car from another state and have it delivered. It just makes sense to avoid sales tax on a purchase that expensive.
IMO the people who don’t need to worry about $7k in taxes are probably flying private, which is a different airport.
I used to work with a guy who lived in central Wisconsin. At that time, i had recently moved from NYC, and still lived near major retail centers. We were talking about vacations, and he told me he looked to go on cruises. And one of the things he liked most about cruising was the shopping.
That totally blew me away. He went on cruises in part for access to the overpriced crap in the on-ship shops. Because he lived in the middle of no where, and couldn’t buy tibetan singing bells on a whim as he walked past an interesting shop. Or even Coach handbags.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess he enjoys shopping at airport gift shops, too.
They are banned at the Smithsonian. So we didn’t go in, as there were no lockers for my husband to stow his knife, which he normally carries. Air & Space Museum didn’t have the same restriction, so we went there. As we live in Switzerland, Swiss Army knives are permitted almost everywhere. But we don’t take them to concerts, just to avoid issues. And it gets packed in the checked luggage when we fly.
It’s possible to buy a Swiss Army knife in Zurich airport, but they want to know where you’re flying to. I think if you’re flying to the U.S., you can’t buy it. I have a smaller one, the one with nail clippers, that lives in my purse and I’ve never had any issue. If I had to give it up, no problem. It’s just a knife, unlike my husband’s which has sentimental value.
Besides snacks, I’ve only bought perfume and lipstick at Zurich airport. We’ve looked at some of the watches, but ultimately bought in the store near home.
When we fly out of the UK, we buy scotch, as the airports carry exclusive editions. If it’s slow, some of the shops are quite happy to offer 2-3 samples.
One advantage of the airport location is you don’t need to hire security personnel to dissuade armed robbers.
Yes, but i have two small knives on my pocket right now, and routinely carry a small knife. My front teeth don’t meet, so I use it for a lot of things that i suspect other people use their teeth for, like removing annoying hang nails.
I try to remember to remove all my knives when i fly, but I’ve twice had to check my carry-on and go through security again, and accidentally snuggled knives through airport security more times than i have kept track of.
On the other hand, shoplifters are never far from a quick and easy getaway…
I have never seen an airport departure lounge called “quick” or “easy”, except ironically.
I can’t even imagine how I could physically remove a hangnail by using a pocketknife in one hand. Especially if it’s on my dominant hand. I just use nail clippers for that, which are allowed everywhere. Much easier.
I use a nail clipper too. My teeth match. I know that a lot of people use their teeth but I never have. Years ago I had a tiny Swiss Army Knife that had a small blade and a scissors. I did use the scissors for hang nails. Btw, TSA confiscated it. I was furious with myself for forgetting to leave it at home.
I am absolutely positive someone else has had this idea. There should be kiosks outside of security at the airport where you can rent a pocket knife for your visit. Say $60 to “buy” a used knife, then if you return it in good condition you get $50 back.
Heh, $300 is definitely not a sooper-dooper expensive handbag these days. That’s just a normal department store handbag.
(off topic, but a dozen posts have mentioned pocket knives already)
So I just gotta ask: what’s up with all you folks carrying knives all day every day? What’s the need?
A small scissors, I can understand..useful for hang nails, removing loose thread from clothing. So, well, I dunno , use it maybe once a month or so.
And if you’ve flown to a vacation, and go to a local farmer’s market and buy a hunk of cheese, the pocket knife might be useful to slice it.So, well, I dunno, use it maybe once a year.
But why carry a pocket knife every day of your life? And especially why not leave it at home when you’re traveling by plane, and presumably doing touristy-type stuff?
Please keep any replies short, so the mods don’t get too mad at me.
(sorry, mods—but the subject seems relevant to a lot of posts in this thread, and I don’t know if this merits a whole thread of its own. )
I carry a Leatherman Micra multi-tool with me on my keychain. I use it for random stuff all the time. It’s probably because I’m the kind of person who’s always fiddling and fixing stuff. For instance, when I’m traveling and there’s a doorknob with a loose screw in the place I’m staying, I’ll use the screwdriver on the micra to tighten it. Lots of little stuff like that. Unfortunately, I have had to give up a few of them at TSA because I forget to leave it at home. If I have enough time before my flight, I’ll get out of line and find some place in the airport or parking garage to hide it until I get back.
Never did get that 9 lb Nestle Crunch bar 
Umm, I use it to cut things?
90% of the time I use it to open packages, but sometimes other things need cutting. Not a big deal at work, where my utility knife stays where it belongs. The ones in my garage and kitchen tend to wander around, so can be difficult to locate. In all cases, just having one in my pocket is convenient. Mine is about the size of 3 keys stacked on top of each other, so is at home on a keychain. Also has a bottle opener.
To stay mildly on topic, I have it as a negative entry on my packing list:
- sunglasses
- watch charger
- leave knife
My thought on the high end goods stores, which maybe hasn’t been mentioned, is that airports are places where people often need to kill time. Maybe you don’t go with the intention of buying a Chloé bag, but wandering in and looking at them is more interesting than scrolling TikTok for another 2 hours in the lounge before boarding starts.
Trim nails, open fruit, open boxes, pick my teeth (with the toothpick, but the blade works in a pinch), cut string, open pouches of food, make emergency repairs (the point of the knife works as a screwdriver for those little screws on glasses)… I use a pocket knife almost every day, and find it frustrating to be without one on vacation. I check a bag just to have a knife, sometimes. I do pack little scissors and a nail clipper when i travel. I only use the scissors when i don’t have my pocket knife handy.
That’s surely the #1 reason for the shops.