La Roca Village (Value Retail)
Spain
September, 2024
How La Roca Village Used Mabrian’s Insights to Attract High-Spending American Travellers, Driving Sales and Engagement
Context
The United States has become one of Spain’s most important long-haul source markets, particularly since the early 2010s, when American arrivals to the country began to rise significantly. Barcelona stands out as a favorite destination for Americans visiting Spain, and for both the city and the region, American tourists represent a highly valuable market. Shopping tourism is a key attraction for this demographic: US visitors often seek premium shopping experiences, and Spain’s high-end retail offerings—especially in Barcelona—have become a significant draw.
As a world-renowned destination for shopping tourism, Barcelona faces strong competition in attracting American travellers. For these visitors, tax-free shopping, access to European brands, and outlet experiences are compelling drivers of demand. However, to capture a greater share of their spending, Barcelona’s retailers must address the challenge of tailoring their offerings to meet the preferences and expectations of this market segment.
With this objective, La Roca Village—part of The Bicester Collection’s network of iconic, open-air shopping destination villages operated by Value Retail—partnered with Mabrian to gain deeper insights into the American travel market. The goal was to refine their marketing strategies to attract more American visitors and shoppers to the shopping center and maximize spending per visitor in their stores.
Key goals
Through Mabrian’s data insights, La Roca Village sought to profile American travellers, gaining a deeper understanding of their planning processes, travel habits, and behaviors when visiting Barcelona. These insights were crucial for designing targeted marketing campaigns, building a network of local partners, and exploring synergies to increase sales and revenue. By leveraging this data-driven approach, La Roca Village aims to strengthen its appeal to American travellers and further enhance its position as a premier shopping destination.
Approach
Mabrian’s team of experts conducted an in-depth analysis of how American travellers find inspiration, plan, book, and prepare for their trips to Barcelona, as well as their behavior once at the destination.Leveraging Mabrian’s comprehensive data platform, our team identified the most effective touchpoints to market shopping experiences at La Roca Village, both before and during their stay in Barcelona.
The analysis cross-referenced multiple datasets to uncover key insights, including demographic profiles (geographic origin, age, gender, travel party, leisure vs. business), booking and planning patterns, preferred airlines and cabin classes, optimal visiting periods, length of stay, key demand drivers, complementary experiences, spending behaviors, and preferred hotel accommodations in Barcelona (categorized by hotel type and brand). This information was used to craft targeted marketing strategies, develop compelling messages and itineraries, and identify potential partners—such as airlines, tour operators, hotels, and local attractions—to collaborate with in driving visitation and boosting sales at La Roca Village.
Results
The report provided La Roca Village with key insights to refine its marketing strategy for American travellers, identifying several opportunities to effectively promote shopping experiences. These findings highlighted valuable behavioral trends, including:
- Trip Planning Timeline: On average, U.S. travellers begin researching their trips to Barcelona approximately two and a half months prior to departure. This suggests that consumer brand marketing campaigns should be launched well in advance of this period. For tactical marketing, the ideal targeting window is between one and two weeks before or during their stay.
- Cultural Demand Drivers: Since cultural experiences are a significant motivator for American travellers, combining high-end cultural activities and major tourist attractions through travel advisors could prove profitable. Additionally, hosting special or exclusive events accessible only via partners for select customers could further drive visits and increase sales.
- Hotel Partnerships: With hotels being the preferred accommodation for premium and luxury American travellers, collaborating with hotels to offer exclusive deals, discounts, or unique experiences could also benefit La Roca Village by attracting a higher number of affluent visitors and encouraging greater spending.
