Omnichannel approach is vital for travel brands
Travel brands must invest in top-of-the-range, responsive websites alongside high quality smartphone and tablet apps to satisfy the demands of customers, who are using multiple channels to research and book their trips.
This is one of the conclusions of the new EyeforTravel Mobile in Travel Report 2016-17.
The report shows that travel customers engage in a complex journey before completing their purchases, meaning travel brands need to assume an omnichannel approach. "Travel has a long tail, with consumers passively consuming travel content for long periods and then actively researching airlines and hotels for less than two weeks …before they make a purchase," the report finds.
The Mobile in Travel Report 2016-17 is a comprehensive examination of the mobile revolution and its effects on the travel industry. With analysis of consumers' mobile behaviour and interviews with industry leaders, the report is an invaluable guide for travel brands interested in creating powerful mobile strategies.
As part of the report, EyeforTravel conducted a survey in mid-2016 of German and UK consumers. This found that nearly a quarter of UK travellers said they used a smartphone as their primary research device and over a quarter used a tablet. Amongst German consumers, the figures were 12% for mobiles and 14% for tablets.
But when it came to making purchases, desktop was dominant, accounting for 80% of travel transactions in Germany and about 60% in the UK. In the US, eMarketer estimated that mobile devices accounted for about 36% of travel sales by value. Criteo estimated that mobile sales are 29% of bookings for the US, 28% for the UK and 15% for Germany.
The EyeforTravel research showed that consumers who booked journeys through mobile devices favoured browsers over apps. In the UK, two thirds of flight sales made by mobile were through browsers and nearly three quarters of accommodation sales. Travelers often make use of travel apps once they start their journeys, for checking-in to flights and hotels and accessing extra services. But it is vital to have an effective mobile website to attract users, who can then be encouraged to download and use the travel brand's smartphone app.
The report includes a chapter on how brands can perfect their mobile web presence. There are estimates of the costs of developing an app for an airline brand and for a hotel chain.
Further chapters analyse the best ways of promoting smartphone apps to consumers and how to encourage people to use the apps regularly after they have downloaded them. It concludes by looking at how brands can combat online fraud ensure their mobile sites are secure.
The report features detailed reports on conference addresses and interviews with senior travel executives from airlines, online travel agencies and hotel chains. There are case studies about the mobile strategies of brands including Lufthansa, HostelWorld, TripAdvisor, CheapFlights, Hotels.com, Starwood Hotels and IHG.
About Reuters Events
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We know that working in the turbulent online travel industry is as exciting as it is challenging. In this constantly evolving market place, we appreciate that keeping up with the pace of change can be tough, not to mention time consuming. You need the right information, contacts and strategic insight to succeed.
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