Forecasting duty-free shopping demand with multisource data: a deep learning approach

Accurate forecasting of duty-free shopping demand plays a pivotal role in strategic and operational decision-making processes. Despite the extensive literature on sustainability, operations management, and consumer behavior in the context of duty-free shopping, there is a noticeable absence of an integrated end-to-end solution for precise demand forecasting. Furthermore, existing forecasting models often encounter limitations in effectively leveraging multi-source data as reliable indicators for duty-free shopping demand. To address these gaps, our study introduces a pioneering deep-learning architecture known as the Attention-Aided Interaction-Driven Long Short-Term Memory-Convolutional Neural Network Model (AI-LCM). Designed to capture intricate cross-correlations within multi-source data, encompassing search queries, COVID-19 impact, economic factors, and historical data; this model represents a significant methodological advancement. Rigorous evaluation against state-of-the-art benchmarks conducted on robust real-world datasets confirms the superior forecasting performance exhibited by our AI-LCM model. We elucidate the manifold implications for various stakeholders while illustrating the extensive applicability of our model and its potential to inform data-driven decision-making strategies.