Hack of the Day: How to pre-order luxury duty-free goods for airport pickup in India

'The Times of India' brings you 'Hack of the Day'—a new weekday series of quick, practical solutions to everyday hassles. Each hack is designed to save you time, money or stress, using tools and features within your reach—from government websites to everyday apps. In simple words it is: Simple fixes for smarter living.

The experience of passing through an international airport is often accentuated by the visual appeal of the duty-free aisles that have everything – from distinct fragrance of luxury perfumes to eye-catching chocolates and spirits. These sections are curated to offer high-demand cosmetics and other premium goods at competitive prices. However, travelers may face a common frustration: after researching a specific in-demand product online, they arrive at the terminal only to find it out of stock or find themselves with too little time to complete the purchase before their flight.

To solve this, many airports now offer pre-order. This means that travelers passing through major Indian airports can now pre-order luxury goods like perfumes to streamline their shopping experience. They just have to show the QR code at the counter and collect your item. Here’s a step-by-step process of how to use this facility and pre-book items that can be picked up upon arrival or departure.

How to pre-order luxury items online

To pre-order luxury items online, you need a good internet connection and patience to scroll though hundreds of items. Travelers can:

• Begin with logging in to the official airport duty-free website like Adani One (Mumbai) or Bengaluru Duty Free.
• They can then scroll though items that they want to purchase
• Select their desired luxury accessories or spirits, and add to cart
• Complete the payment online
• Once the transaction is complete, the system generates a confirmation QR code.
• On the day of travel, present this code along with boarding pass and ID at the pickup counter to collect the items.

This method secures stock for high-demand items and often provides access to online-exclusive discounts.

It is to be noted that home delivery is not available and all items must be physically collected at the airport. You can also pre-book the item when you are departing for a holiday and collect it when you return after your holiday at the airport. It is a completely free service.

Cancellations and missed pick-ups

If a passenger misses collecting their order, they can contact the support team immediately. Refunds can be processed in approximately 20 working days.

Importantly, Indian customs regulations permit only international flight passengers to buy from the Duty Free shop which means passengers having an international boarding pass and a valid passport are eligible to shop from Delhi Duty Free stores.