Are travel agencies keeping up with the (digital) times of online shopping?

Travelport, a global technology company that powers the bookings of hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers around the world and our primary technology partner, asked 2,000 people around the world about this, to understand whether travel purchasing holds up against e-commerce of goods, services and experiences in other sectors. What emerges is of interest to us as we watch these trends very carefully, to get to the point where we can develop future strategies aligned with social, then consumer, changes.

The focus on tourism distribution is dictated by the fact that travel agencies are at the center of a pressing need: our sector is in need of updating. We represent the fundamental point of contact with the traveler, the most direct; knowing his habits, passions, desires, budget. It is on us that we need to work.

Now, the answer from the analysis conducted by Travelport is that travel retail has lagged behind although it has been a forerunner in technology and can be again. The important thing is that it becomes aware that today’s consumers expect intuitive, smooth and fast digital shopping experiences.

Because research such as this points us in the direction we have chosen, namely innovation, we offer a critical reading of it.

What can be improved on travel service booking websites?

How does the current online shopping experience turn out?

Respondents assert that:

• The experience is sometimes complicated, cumbersome, too laborious
• Online research bounces between too many sources
• Comparison with making a restaurant reservation or online clothing shopping is revealing
• Price comparison between bids is not transparent and data are not unified

The uncomfortable yet likely verdict is that online vacation/travel shopping can be more transparent = less complicated = more fun. Poor comparison options can also create a feeling of “hidden costs,” which erodes shoppers’ confidence.

In addition, people want a travel shopping experience where they can research and book everything in one go. Which, from our point of view, is almost unfeasible for many reasons, chief among them the large number of variables and components of travel products. However, listening to what e-shoppers think is very useful, as we have premised.

And don’t think that online means searching for the lowest price.

“Customers do not want the cheapest option. Their main concern is to see everything available to them,” Travelport explains.

Business travel

For business travel, the challenge is to fluidly manage even more complexity than leisure. The survey shows that 87 percent of respondents would like to book services as easily as they do with certain vacation websites. Instead, booking business travel is more difficult.

Here, more specifically, we would like to add that business travel is subject to certain corporate compliance and approval rules that exclude a priori the possibility of simplified booking.

In conclusion, the results of the research are a stimulus for the modernization of the sales/purchase process, and with a view to wholeheartedly embracing a necessary path of evolution for the purpose of the creation of digital touch points that defer the finalization of the purchase to the expertise of travel agencies, we submit it to you.

What are the 3 components of modern travel retail?

To find out: at this LINK.

Meanwhile, know that:

• Travelers want options, many options
• The most successful retailers not only win customers over with theroast, but also with its aroma
• Customers come back if they are happy
• The criterion for success in modern retailing is genuine loyalty and repeat purchases