Merchandising is the connective tissue between what revenue management plans and what the traveler sees. If your product catalog is a maze, every new bundle or post-purchase offer takes months. This playbook keeps attributes, bundles, and post-purchase flows organized.
Get the attribute model right
Attributes describe the experience: seat pitch, Wi-Fi quality, meal type, changeability. Keep them structured and translatable. Provide short codes for systems, marketing descriptions for front ends, and data lineage so analytics knows where the value came from. Attribute consistency allows comparison across fare brands and channels.
Bundle with intent
- Define the traveler problem the bundle solves (e.g., “business traveler arriving rested”).
- Map included items to stock and servicing rules.
- Set pricing logic that can be audited-show the base items, discounts, and any dynamic adjustments.
- Does the bundle degrade gracefully when one ancillary is unavailable?
- Are refund rules clear when only part of the bundle is consumed?
- Can customer service rebook while preserving bundle benefits?
Post-purchase monetization
Once an order exists, the merchandising opportunity shifts. Use order data to tailor follow-ups:
- Send targeted offers tied to trip milestones (upgrade after check-in opens, lounge access for long connections).
- Respect operational data-do not upsell paid seats if an aircraft change is pending.
- Measure acceptance, revenue, and operational impact so you can tune algorithms.
Tooling and governance
Provide a single merchandising console where product managers publish bundles, attach media, and schedule promotions. Integrate with experimentation platforms to A/B test messaging. Keep a changelog so finance and compliance teams know why a bundle changed.
When attributes stay consistent, bundles are intentional, and post-purchase flows respect operations, merchandising becomes a lever for differentiation rather than a backlog of ad-hoc requests.