Bleisure in Retail: How Retailers Can Capitalize on the Blurring of Business and Leisure Travel

The boundaries between business and leisure travel have never been more fluid. The rise of “bleisure”—the blending of business and leisure trips—has transformed not only the travel and hospitality sectors, but is now reshaping the retail landscape in profound ways. As remote work and flexible corporate policies become the norm, city centers, airports, and travel hubs are seeing a new wave of travelers who are as likely to be closing a deal as they are to be exploring a new city or shopping for pleasure. For retailers, this presents a unique opportunity to reimagine the in-store experience, product assortment, and digital engagement to capture the attention—and wallets—of this growing segment.

Today’s bleisure traveler is not a new phenomenon, but the scale and diversity of this audience have expanded dramatically. Traditionally, business travelers might have tacked on a weekend for sightseeing or brought family along for a conference. Now, with the normalization of remote work, professionals are extending trips, relocating temporarily, or combining corporate offsites with personal exploration. This means more time spent in destination cities, more flexibility in schedules, and a greater appetite for unique, memorable experiences—including shopping.

Retailers in city centers, airports, and travel corridors are uniquely positioned to serve bleisure travelers. These consumers are looking for more than just convenience; they seek experiences that blend utility with discovery, and value with delight. To capitalize on this, retailers must:

• Curate Experiences, Not Just Products: Bleisure travelers are often in a mindset to explore. Retailers can create immersive, interactive environments—think pop-up events, product demonstrations, or local artisan showcases—that invite travelers to linger, learn, and share.
• Offer Flexible, Omnichannel Journeys: With unpredictable schedules, bleisure travelers value flexibility. Options like buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), ship-to-hotel, or airport pickup can remove friction and accommodate the traveler’s unique needs. Integrating digital and physical touchpoints ensures a seamless experience, whether the customer is browsing on their phone in a hotel lobby or visiting a flagship store.
• Personalize Through Data: Bleisure travelers leave a rich trail of data—travel itineraries, loyalty profiles, purchase histories, and digital interactions. Retailers who invest in robust data platforms and analytics can deliver personalized recommendations, targeted offers, and relevant content that resonate with the traveler’s context and intent. For example, a retailer might surface local must-haves, limited-time offers, or exclusive experiences based on the traveler’s stay dates and preferences.

The convergence of business and leisure travel opens the door for innovative partnerships between retailers and hospitality providers. Hotels, airlines, and travel platforms are increasingly looking to enhance the guest experience with curated retail offerings, exclusive shopping events, or loyalty program integrations. Retailers can:

• Collaborate on Exclusive Offers: Joint promotions—such as hotel guests receiving special discounts at nearby stores, or retailers offering travel-related perks—can drive foot traffic and incremental sales.
• Integrate Loyalty Programs: Linking retail and hospitality loyalty programs allows travelers to earn and redeem points across both sectors, deepening engagement and encouraging repeat visits.
• Co-create Experiences: From in-hotel pop-up shops to airport retail activations, co-branded experiences can surprise and delight travelers, turning routine trips into memorable journeys.

To serve the bleisure segment effectively, retailers must accelerate their digital transformation. This means:

• Building Agile, Composable Architectures: Modern, flexible technology stacks enable retailers to quickly launch new services, integrate with partners, and adapt to changing traveler behaviors.
• Centralizing Data and Insights: A unified view of the customer—across channels, brands, and geographies—empowers retailers to act on real-time insights and deliver relevant, timely experiences.
• Fostering a Culture of Experimentation: The bleisure trend is still evolving. Retailers who embrace test-and-learn mindsets, pilot new concepts, and iterate quickly will be best positioned to capture emerging opportunities.

Forward-thinking retailers are already adapting to the bleisure wave. Examples include:

• Airport Retailers: Many are reimagining their spaces as destinations in their own right, offering local products, wellness services, and digital conveniences like mobile ordering and contactless payment.
• City Center Flagships: Some brands are transforming stores into experiential hubs, hosting events, workshops, and collaborations with local artists or chefs to attract both locals and travelers.
• Digital-First Brands: Retailers with strong digital capabilities are leveraging data to personalize offers, enable flexible fulfillment, and create loyalty ecosystems that span travel, hospitality, and retail.

As the lines between business and leisure continue to blur, retailers have a rare opportunity to redefine their role in the travel ecosystem. By focusing on experience, flexibility, personalization, and partnership, retail can become an essential part of the bleisure journey—turning every trip into an opportunity for discovery, connection, and commerce.

The future of retail is not just about selling products; it’s about creating moments that matter, wherever the traveler’s journey may lead. For those ready to embrace the bleisure revolution, the possibilities are as limitless as the destinations themselves.

Relevant Links

• What “Bleisure” Means for Travel & Hospitality Brands
• What “Bleisure” Means for Travel & Hospitality Brands
• The Future of Bleisure for Dining & Quick-Service Restaurants: Meeting the Needs of the Hybrid Traveler
• El futuro del retail en América Latina: Innovación, resiliencia y el nuevo consumidor digital (LATAM)
• Les grandes tendances du retail européen : entre résilience, innovation et transformation digitale (Europe)