More Aussies using mobile to research, book travel

Internet Retailing

18th Oct 2016

More Australians have planned or booked travel online than have browsed online retail sites or bought clothing, shoes and accessories online, a new report has found.

In a survey conducted by marketing platform Signal, the vast majority of respondents said they planned (80 per cent) and booked (72 per cent) their flights and hotel rooms using a computer, tablet or smartphone in the past year. And almost half (47 per cent) said they use two or more digital devices in this process.

Consumers’ preferred device differs depending on age, with millennials (ages 18-36) five times as likely as baby boomers (age 56 and older) to use their smartphones to plan and book travel. They are also more likely to use multiple devices.

According to Warren Billington, Signal’s managing director of Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, travellers are using multiple screens to compare prices, book tickets and accommodation, and even make upgrades or additional purchases after they book. And that behaviour doesn’t stop once tickets and rooms are booked. Over half of survey respondents said they travel with two or more connected devices.

“This means the pressure is on for travel suppliers to recognise travellers as they move across devices and create seamless, one-to-one experiences. However, there’s a huge opportunity to use the rich customer data available to travel marketers to deliver superior experiences.”

With 31 per cent of the survey respondents stating a desire for more relevant advertising from airlines and hotels, personalisation is the way forward for travel suppliers.

This means reaching people not only on multiple devices but also through various channels, since Aussie travellers move across search engines, hotel and airline sites, third party travel sites, online articles and social media in their planning and booking journeys.