Gross retail sales at the airport increased by 8.8 per cent in 2011, with shoppers from the rapidly-growing BRIC nations leading the shopping boom.

Purchases topped £1.7 billion in the year, a record for Heathrow, with a big emphasis on luxury brands.

The average passenger spent £4.35 in its shops  but travellers from the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – spent an average of £45.50 per head.

The total means that Heathrow has the highest retail sales of any airport in the world, beating both Dubai and Seoul, which have put huge emphasis on their retail elements.

Research has encouraged Heathrow to strengthen its portfolio of premium brands, which already includes Chanel, Hermes and Prada, with the opening of Miu Miu in Terminal 3. And pop-up stores have additionally contributed to the sale of luxury goods with brands such as Jack Wills, Ray-Ban, Chanel Watches and Laduree.

Muriel Zingraff, the airport’s retail concessions director, said “we now have passengers who are choosing to fly through Heathrow specifically to pick up items sold here and we have continued to witness a significant increase in demand for luxury goods from Chinese passengers as well as the Middle East with British brands such as Mulberry, Burberry and Smythson proving particularly popular”.