Security, duty free, then WHSmith: that’s basically ABZ retail
In T1 at Aberdeen (ABZ), WHSmith is the main place you’ll see both landside and airside for news, drinks, and last‑minute bits. If you want a bottle of water, a meal deal, or a magazine before a Loganair or easyJet hop, this is where you end up. Stock is the standard UK airport mix: meal deals, crisps, sweets, stationery, paperbacks, puzzle books, SIMs, and basic travel plugs.
Opening hours track the first and last departures, roughly 04:30 until the late evening wave, but it’s worth assuming a slimmer range if you arrive after 20:00. Prices on basics like 500ml water or a standard chocolate bar regularly show the usual airport mark‑up compared with a city‑centre Tesco or Co‑op. Expect to pay noticeably more than in town for snacks and soft drinks.
Regular UK flyers on Reddit talk about hitting a supermarket before heading to ABZ so they don’t have to pay WHSmith airport pricing on items like multipack crisps and grab‑and‑go sweets. The store does carry newspapers on major league match days, plus crossword and sudoku books that work well for the 1–2 hour domestic legs ABZ mainly handles. Phone chargers and cables sit near the till, but they’re often priced above what you’d see online.
Watch out for: water and snack prices that feel steep for a regional airport; one Reddit thread calls out airport WHSmith locations in general for this. If you forget to bring snacks, the meal deal is usually the least painful way to buy a sandwich and drink together. Practical tip: bring an empty bottle through ABZ security, use the airside water fountains, then use WHSmith only for what you genuinely forgot.