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In a concise report penned by Modern Retail's Melissa Daniels, an argument was made that cruise retail, or retail opportunities for brands and retailers within the cruise ship environment, was on the upswing.
The primary case study was brought forth in the form of established cruise ship retail company Starboard, with CEO Lisa Bauer being cited as saying that they famous sold a raft of goods ranging "from Pringles to Prada." Of note, per Bauer, was that the cruise ship environment in and of itself was responsible for creating an aura of unique emotions tied to the elusive "special occasion" consumer mentality.
“While the macro environment definitely plays a role, I think it has less impact on the cruise industry in particular because people save for that and they want something to remember it,” she said, noting that Starboard had exceeded its planned budget last year and watched as record sales in pre-owned luxury watches and handbags rolled in.
Duty-Free World Council data from 2025 seemed to reinforce this sentiment, with a report noting:
- Almost two-thirds of travel shoppers were most interested in items they'd not purchased before, or unique products more broadly. Discovery is key.
- A rise was exhibited among duty-free buyers, with 31% admitting to impulse purchases versus 28% the year prior. Further, 27% of those surveyed described duty-free products as a good value, versus 25% in 2024.
A quick scan of various r/cruise threads showed the other side of the coin, however, with many Reddit users being quite skeptical of savings, leaving comments such as: "All the luxury goods they sell (gold by the inch, purses, watches, jewelry) are bad deals, don’t do it," "If there's something you're thinking about, check out the price online in regular shops on land to see if you're really getting a deal. Usually you're not," and "Much less[?], not usually. Tax free helps but depends on a lot of factors. If there is something specific like a watch or gems, know what you would pay at home or online before shopping duty free so you have decent comparisons."
Daniels noted that fine jewelry was showing strength on cruise ships, and that logo-branded cruise ship merch and personalization stations where embroidery and engraving took place were also on the rise.
Cruise Ship Retail Overlooked by Brands?
Bauer continued to suggest that the overall retail opportunity being presented by today's cruise ship environment was being overlooked by brands, considered something of an afterthought -- strictly for "the nearly dead, overfed or newlywed."
“While malls and retail stores on land are trying to drive foot traffic, I have 6,200 unique guests every week on some of my ships. Unlike an airport where they’ve got minutes, I have hours and days with our guests to educate them," she noted, pivoting to add that educating brand partners on the evolving demographic of cruise customers and exhibiting the numerous on-board clients -- from Tom Ford and Montale to Briogeo and Clarins -- was the next logical step.