What travel activities users perform on mobile [INFOGRAPHIC] After seeing a travel ad or a video in mobile, 74% of people would request for more information about that travel company. This is according to a study by Tapjoy, a performance-based mobile advertising platform. This number shouldn’t surprise many as the industry is moving towards advanced techniques like desktop-to-mobile ad retargeting where more relevant content is served on mobile. Expedia, for example, was able to retarget 54 million of its customers using this technique.
The outcome of the study, conducted in early November among 860 users in its network, is presented in an infographic. Key data from the infographic: After seeing a travel ad, 56% of consumers search for travel deals and promotions on their mobile device35% research travel plans on their mobile device16% purchase flight tickets on their mobile device72% book their travel less than three months aheadWhen making last-minute arrangements, 65% prefer to use their mobile Below is the infographic. Native Apps Vs. the Mobile Web: What Works in Mobile Booking. Last month we released our latest report, “The Rise of Mobile Booking in Travel“, looking at how mobile booking, while still in early stages, is one of the biggest growth areas in online/mobile travel. It is the most definitive state-of-the-market report on this big growth sector in travel.
We’re extracting a portion below on native apps vs mobile web for mobile booking. Booking with native apps that run in Apple iOS or Android trump browser-based booking, but not by much. A study by comScore and Expedia showed that 56 percent of hotel guests on smartphones and tablets prefer booking with a native app, as do 58 percent of airline customers. In comparison to mobile-friendly websites, apps give the designer much more freedom. Since both main operating systems share a defined design language, users often find apps very easy to navigate.
Simply optimizing the main website with responsive design, could boost sales. Get the Report. Passengers say 'yes' to technology but mobile usage still low. Date: 2 October 2013 Location: Geneva, Switzerland More than 90% of airline passengers say technology helps them when travelling but using a smartphone for travel services has yet to go main stream. This is despite the finding that three quarters of passengers carry a smartphone according to results of the 2013 SITA/Air Transport World Passenger IT Trends Survey released today. The survey conducted at six leading airports around the world paints a picture of tech-savvy passengers who are equipped to use the latest mobile travel services but are cautious about doing so. At 76%, the proportion of passengers carrying smartphones outstrips the global average of 40% in the general population. Even though passengers are carrying smartphones and say that they would use mobile services the majority has yet to make the transition.
Despite the increase in recent years, actual rates of usage of these services, such as check-in and booking, remain below 5%. iPad and other tablets starting to challenge old web shopping behaviour. For a device which pretty much didn’t exist in the minds of consumers until a few years ago, tablets (led by the iPad) are now fundamentally altering browsing and buying patterns.
A recent report from eMarketer says tablets are extending US consumer shopping hours “well into the night and generating incremental sales as a result”, even more so than mobile devices and laptops. But the good news is not being matched by accommodating retailers, the report says, with most “failing to meet their expectations”. Author Cathy Boyle adds: “Tablet users want to interact, inspect, even ‘play’ with products through their device, and retailers that deliver an immersive, fun experience are the most likely to see their tcommerce sales increase.” The report, looking across all industry verticals, highlights recent RichRelevance research from April this year which illustrated the difference in average price of items bought on iPads versus mobile devices and PCs/laptops. INFOGRAHPIC Mobile Dependence: A Growing Trend in Business Travel « Aviation Queen. Third of travellers cannot survive on a trip without their mobile. Just how attached are people to their mobile devices, even when they are supposed to be taking time away from the rat race and lying on a beach somewhere?
Quite a lot, would be the simple answer. A study of over 5,000 travellers in Europe by TripAdvisor (the latest in its now annual study of mobile use) found that 34% “can’t live without” their mobile when a holiday. Country-by-country, Italian travellers are the most obsessed, with 41% declaring their love of the mobile, while Germany (31%), France (30%), UK (29%) and Spain (26%) are less smitten. Elsewhere in the study, Germany is leading the way with using a mobile for various travel services. The majority of Germans (54%) are now planning a trip via mobile, compared to 50% in Spain, 37% in Italy, 34% in the UK and 33% in France. Goodbye traditional cameras, it appears, as three quarters of Spanish travellers are now using their mobile to take and then share photos during a trip. NB: Man kissing phone image via Shutterstock. What do mobile business travellers want? The “always connected traveller” is probably one of the phrases of the year as it signifies how important the world of mobile and web access has become.
In a global survey conducted by Collinson Latitude of 2,400 business travellers (decent sample size), as well as focus groups of another 50 working in corporates, respondents have outlined some of the key areas that make up their connected (or not) experience when on-the-go. Often central to the connected experience for business travellers is access to lounge services. The study found, at a global level, access is either the most or second most highly valued travel loyalty product when offered by banks and credit cards. But the need to have such services is so important to business travellers that many are willing to stump up their own money to pay for it.
Meanwhile, trips are now managed principally on a traveller’s smartphone or laptop, with paper-based itineraries serving only as a backup when access cannot be obtained. Mobile wake-up call for airlines. NB: This is a guest article by Mike Benjamin, CEO of flight information company FlightView. If airlines have been hitting the mobile snooze button, wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee stats highlighted last week should have them jumping out of bed.
There’s no denying the power of mobile for airlines – as an information hub, a revenue generator, and an effective brand and loyalty builder. But too many airlines are only leveraging mobile as a customer service tool – and are leaving significant revenue potential untapped. And with Gartner forecasting 645 million smartphone users by 2012 and 665 million media tablets in use by 2016, the alarm that’s sounding for mobile strategies and potential mobile revenue is only getting louder. Mobile as an information hub Consumers want information and expect easy access to it – that’s no shock. Around the corner, mobile apps will display an aircraft’s previous flight information so a passenger knows when to better expect its arrival at their gate.
How mobile technology is changing travel [INFOGRAPHIC] Majority of smartphone owners now accessing travel content via their devices. Wake-up-and-the-smell-the-coffee moment for the tourism industry with data showing for the first time that the majority of smartphone users are using their devices to check out travel content. The study by ComScore found 51% of owners of mobiles such as iPhone, Android, Windows and Blackberry devices accessed travel-related products, services and other related content on their mobiles in the three-month period ending February 2012.
Furthermore, one in five made a hotel or air ticket booking on their mobiles over the same period. Four out of five users included in the US-based poll (62% male/38% female, 33% aged 25-34, 22% income $50K-$75K), accessed both air and hotel-related content. So what are these users doing (percentage is of smartphone owners)? Air-related content: Hotel-related content: ComScore senior vice president of mobile, Mark Donovan, says the data illustrates the massive importance and influential role of mobile on the travel shopping and management experience. Managing Travel in Real Time. Mobile Travel Managment. Five big problems with mobile travel applications (and a bonus one for Android users) The World Wide Wait was a common term used in the late 1990s to vent the frustration of being unable to access the huge potential of the internet. The “Wait” was due to slow dial-up lines, clogged service provider servers, and let-it-all-out heavy graphic/flash websites. In 2011, the same label could be refreshed for mobile apps, in particular travel mobile apps.
In part because of similar network speed reasons, but also because of wrong decisions in app design. Here’s a summary of the most common problems with mobile travel apps today: 1. It’s not always on. Because it’s mobile, users constantly lose coverage: metro/tube stations, inner buildings, car parkings, cathedrals (yes), rural areas. And obviously, when it comes to traveling abroad, roaming forces data networks off for most users. The fact is that as soon as coverage is lost, some apps stop working. Case in point with the Eurostar or the AirFrance apps. The return mobile boarding pass so efficiently downloaded before departure? 2. How does voice search change the travel industry? NB: This is a guest article by Jonathan Alford from Seattle-based consulting firm Lenati.
We’ve all seen a little and opined a lot about what Google could do with ITA Software, but could one of the most potentially innovative elements still be flying under the radar? This is the convergence of mobile, natural language speech, and cloud technology forces that could enable Google-ITA, likely Apple, and maybe Microsoft to really change the travel search and transaction landscape? I thought I’d take a look after the milestone launch of Siri as part of the release of the iPhone 4S By now, you might have flirted with Siri, and usage has reportedly been 10x what even Apple anticipated. Along with Microsoft’s voice integration through Windows Phone, Xbox Live, Kinect, and coming Windows 8 platforms, natural language voice engagement is finally going mainstream.
This time last year, voice search was projected to be 15% of all searches by 2015. What if you could say: Siri is different. Survey: Business travelers go mobile and do travel planning at destination. Business travelers do much of their travel planning through their managed travel programs, but once they are on the road they do a lot of research on their mobile devices in-destination. That’s one of the findings of a new PhoCusWright study, sponsored by Rearden Commerce, on business travelers’ use of mobile. Rearden Commerce states: “With 84 percent reporting using smart phones for business use during travel, participants indicated their top three travel-related activities via mobile phone today are focused on location: mapping or finding directions (80 percent); researching local activities (63 percent); and researching destination information (55 percent).
“The traveler’s propensity to act on that location-based information via mobile phone is substantial, with 30 percent reporting they would like to receive personalized offers specific to their destination.” In the less surprising category, 75% of business travelers responded that they go online using their mobile phones. How mobile payments and digital wallets will open up new opportunities in travel. The first person I ever saw using a QR code in an email signature line was Jarad Miller, around the time he was moving into his current role with United Airlines as managing director for self-service and emerging technology.
At the time I was quick to follow; it worked well, but primarily for the novelty value of customers asking me to explain QR codes as it enabled me to get right into a good conversation on mobile commerce with potential and existing customers. I recount that story in order to introduce the purpose of the article below. The real game in mobile commerce (and mobile payments specifically) is less about the specific technology protocol for transmitting data between the phone and the point of sale, and more about using the mobile to provide an experience above and beyond what travellers can get today. The NFC angle Consistency of experience is key, and the wallet underpins this consistency regardless of the protocol used. New openings Other options.