February 07, 2020

Down and Duty-Free


Down and Duty-Free
Doesn't this image just make you want to buy a party-size pack of peanut M&Ms? Rakoon, Wikimedia Commons

Hoping to save a little on perfume, liquor, or souvenirs on your next trip to Russia? A new online ordering system for duty-free stores has been implemented in Moscow's Domodedovo airport, with similar programs set to be released in Sheremetyevo and Petersburg's Pulkovo.

According to an Izvestia report, customers can receive discounts of between 7 and 10 percent when preordering online, then picking up the item in the airport store. Supporters of the new system say that it will help travelers "save time" in the terminal, while others say that Russian duty-free habits are more spontaneous, and that the behavior of customers will have to change to be more intentional.

And here we thought the whole point of browsing a duty-free store was to kill time during a layover by looking at expensive caviar and ridiculous cologne that we would never buy.

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