1、Understanding Airline Strong Airline Profitability Continues in 2018 Who We Are From the moment someone lands on a website for the first time, through to following up purchases in style, we help our customers ensure their visitors online journey is truly cyclical. Understanding Airline & Travel Book

2、ing Trends Trusted by the worlds biggest and best travel brands: 03 SaleCycle Data Report “Our mission is to inspire, shape, and support the conversions that exist within every customer journey.” Dominic Edmunds, Founder & CEO SaleCycle We use behavioral data to help optimize conversion rates, recov

3、er abandoned sales and increase customer lifetime value. The end result? Increased online sales. Part One | SaleCycle Airline & Travel Booking Trends The Issue of Abandonment Trends in Booking Timings Why Do People Abandon? Where Are We Going? How Do We Book? Part Two | Tips to Increase Future Onlin

4、e Bookings Introduction Recognize Your Customer Enrich the User Experience Think Mobile First Let Them Pay Their Way Provide a Sense of Urgency Use Booking Abandonment Emails Provide Flexible Search Options Conclusion 04 Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends SaleCycle Data Report Contents 06

5、. 08. 10. 12. 13. 16. 17. 18. 19. 19. 20. 20. 20. 21. Part One SaleCycle Airline & Travel Booking Trends Calendar Year 2018 06 The Issue of Abandonment SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Airline abandonment rates are reasonably steady throughout the year, between aro

6、und 87% and 89%. By looking at the data, we see a trend which shows that abandonment rates are lower in the months between September and December. This is also the period with the lowest sales volume, which shows that visitors reaching airline websites have a greater intent to purchase, with fewer v

7、isitors only researching for future holidays. Travel abandonment rates, as well as being much lower, tend to fluctuate a little more during the year, with the two highest peaks in March and July. For people booking for the northern-hemisphere summer, March and April are a key time for booking, showi

8、ng that this is the time when most decisions JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC Average Abandonment Rate by Month 2018 SaleCycle Client Data Average Airline Abandonment Rate Average Travel Abandonment Rate 80.80% 80.71% 83.10% 82.67% 81.80% 80.79% 82.24% 80.59% 80.58% 79.78% 80.62% 82.01% 87.75% 8

9、8.41% 88.90% 88.82% 88.05% 88.46% 88.22% 88.60% 87.34% 86.16% 86.79% 86.99% Average 2018 Abandonment Rate by Industry SaleCycle Client Data Airlines Travel Finance Non-Profit Retail Fashion 87.87% 81.31% 77.97% 76.93% 74.58% 74.13% If we look in more detail at the travel booking funnel, we can get a

10、 picture of how people behave on travel sites. Almost 46% of users view a travel product, which means they have searched and viewed a hotel room or flight, for example. After this, 17.6% actually begin the booking process. This is relatively high when compared to retail, where 11.5% of shoppers add

11、an item to their shopping carts on fashion ecommerce sites, and 3.7% go on to make a purchase. In travel, a greater number of visitors are beginning the booking process, but fewer are completing bookings. Of the 17.6% of visitors who begin online travel bookings, just 3.1% complete them. For airline

12、s, this booking completion figure is even lower, at 1.8%. 07 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Travel Booking Funnel Data SaleCycle Client Data 100% Total Sessions 45.8% Product Viewed 17.6% Booking Process Started 3.1% Completed Booking are made. It, therefore, mak

13、es sense that people abandon more bookings as they hone in on the best deal for them. Likewise, for more last-minute bookers looking to head away around August, July is the crunch time for last minute research. The average airline abandonment rate for airlines 2018 was 87.9%, higher than the average

14、 for travel sites (81.3%) and much more than retail ecommerce (74.6%). This doesnt mean that airline websites are badly designed or incredibly difficult to use. Some could be improved of course, but the higher abandonment rates are mainly a result of the way people research flights, and the length o

15、f the booking process. Of all travel products, flights are the most complicated. Booking a hotel can be a relatively straightforward process, as is the case with other travel products like car hire. By contrast, booking flights requires much more work from users. After selecting flights and times, t

16、hey need to add passenger details, passport data, select seats and in-flight meals, and much more. These are steps that cant be avoided. For this reason, booking and payment often takes longer than for other travel products. As a general rule, the longer the purchase process, the more likely custome

17、rs are to abandon. 08 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends The peak periods for airline bookings are the first four months of the year, as many people are planning their northern-hemisphere summer holidays, and looking to escape the southern winter. Its no surprise the

18、n, that the number of abandonments peak in January, February and March, as traffic to airline sites is highest, and people are abandoning bookings as they research. Abandonment volumes drop between April and July. Its a period when fewer people are booking, though theres still plenty of interest in

19、last minute getaways at this time of year. With school holidays and limited periods to take leave, this is a time when people wanting to get away around this time of year need to make faster decisions, so abandonment volumes are relatively low. Trends in Booking Timings JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL A

20、UG SEP OCT NOV DEC Booking and Abandonment Monthly Trends 2018 SaleCycle Airline Client Data Total Sales Volume Abandoned Booking Volume Aprils sales volume is highest, while it also has a relatively low number of abandonments, showing that April is a key month for making decisions. Many will want t

21、o secure their chosen flights and hotels at this point and arent prepared to wait longer and run the risk of missing out. 09 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Day of Week Trends 2018 SaleCycle Airline Client Data MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN Direct Sales Volumes by Day of

22、Week 2018 MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN Booking Abandonment Volumes by Day of Week 2018 MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN Recovered Sales Volumes by Day of Week 2018 MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN Total Sales Volumes by Day of Week 2018 When looking at weekly trends we can see that the total sales (direct sales and recovered sa

23、les) per day peaks on a Tuesday, and declines for the rest of the week, with weekends being the quietest. There are a lot more sales from recoveries on Tuesdays, and proportionately more direct sales on Mondays. The volume of abandonments follows the direct sales volumes quite closely, with Saturday

24、 and Sunday having slightly higher abandonment rates to traffic than the rest of the week. *Source: TrekkSoft Blog: Travel statistics to know about in 2018 and 2019 Theres no typical travel shopper - some seem to book in plenty of time, while many are booking last minute. This may reflect different

25、needs. Business trips may lead to more last-minute booking, while family holidays can be a more considered purchase. Mobile is an important device for last minute purchases. According to TrekkSoft*, bookings are generally made thirteen days in advance, but on mobile, this window narrows to just five

26、 days. Research by Phocuswright (published by TrekkSoft) found that 38% of bookings are made on the same day or two days before a trip, 53% are made within a week of a trip, and just 19% are made in advance. 10 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Why Do People Abandon

27、? Reasons for Booking Abandonment SaleCycle Booking Abandonment Survey Data multiple selections possible Just Looking Price Too High/Want to Compare Prices Need to Check with Others Booking Process Was Too Long Technical Issue Lack of Payment Options 39% 37% 21% 13% 9% 7% A key factor for airline bo

28、oking completion rates sitting at just 1.8% is the nature of the sites and the research process for travel products. In many cases, its necessary to start a booking to find out key information. For example, a visitor can select dates and destination for a flight but needs to begin the booking to fin

29、d out other key details, such as flight schedules, price, and seat availability, or before they are presented with any personalized options. In other words, customer research continues into the booking process, and this can mean more abandonments at this stage. When travelers search for a flight, un

30、less the airline is able to convey how they differ from their competitors in terms of product, service or convenience, the customer will base their decision on the only variables they can see when searching online: price and flight schedule. Without any personalized touchpoints at this point in the

31、customer journey, visitors are less loyal to continuing the purchase after sourcing basic information and are more likely to price compare with competitors. Data from SaleCycles booking abandonment survey validates this. 97% of survey respondents said they abandoned bookings because they were just l

32、ooking, comparing prices, or needed to check with others before making a commitment. The others cited the lack of payment options and encountering technical issues, which can be easily addressed once theyre recognized. Technical issues can cover a range of problems, from site crashes to issues with

33、form fields, and some may not be technical issues but the result of unclear form fields or poor user interface design. 11 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends The research process tends to be longer for travel than for most other products and will vary according to the

34、 type of travel product, the cost of the booking, and other factors. According to Millward Brown stats*, users booking holidays visit as many as 38 travel sites before completing their booking. With a generally longer time frame for research, abandonment doesnt always mean that visitors have decided

35、 against a purchase. It could be merely a pause while they make their minds up, or perhaps talk to other travelers. Nonetheless, this doesnt mean that travel sites shouldnt seek to address this. There is a risk that potential customers will end up buying from another site once they leave, so its imp

36、ortant to do what you can to keep your site and product in the customers mind. The good news is that 87% of survey respondents said they would consider coming back to their abandoned booking. Some just need a little more time to think about the purchase, and prompting users to return to their bookin

37、g, as well as saving trip details can persuade them to complete their booking when theyre ready. “I think the first thing to do is to understand the size of the opportunity. Never mind fancy features, working out what difficulties users are having with your current feature-set should be your first p

38、riority.” Stuart McMillan, Schuh *Source: Welocalise on Medium: Online Travel Demands Many Digital Touch-points in Multiple Languages 12 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Data from Google and Hipmunk reveals the most popular searches using the phrase flights to. fro

39、m the US, UK and Australia. Looking at the UK stats, the two top destinations searched are a result of Russias hosting of the 2018 World Cup, with fans looking for flights to see their teams compete in the finals. The next few destinations are more predictable, with Spain the obvious choice for many

40、 in the UK seeking a beach holiday. I suspect that destinations Where Are We Going? Top Destination Searches 2018 Google Trends Data (Global, AU, UK Searches) & Hipmunk (US Searches) Top AU Flight to Searches Top UK Flight to Searches Top US Flight to Searches Top Global Trip to Searches in France,

41、Italy and elsewhere may be more popular, but the results are spread across several possible city searches. For example, someone searching for flights to Italy might choose Rome, Naples, Milan and more. US travelers appear to be more adventurous looking at these stats, with flight destinations spread

42、 across four continents. By contrast, Australians are more likely to stay relatively close to home, with the only one non-Asian destination appearing on the list. 13 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends How Do We Book? Share of Traffic & Sales by Device SaleCycle Clien

43、t Data Traffic Sales All DesktopMobile Traffic Sales Traffic Sales Traffic Sales 48.7%51.3% 63.2%36.8% 34.6%65.4% 42.9%57.1% 39.2%60.8% 50.1%49.9% 58.9%41.1% 81.7%18.3% FashionRetailTravel Flight Booking Trends by Device Phocuswright/Bing Data Shopping Booking Desktop Smartphone Tablet 82% 75% 37% 1

44、8% 15% 6% For every $92 spent acquiring website visitors, only $1 is spent converting them. Econsultancy As is the case with ecommerce in general, the travel research and booking process is becoming more mobile. Certain sectors, such as the hotel industry, are seeing more bookings on mobile than des

45、ktop. For hotels, with a simpler product and checkout process (often customers dont even need to pay on site), mobile works well. For travel in general, and more specifically flights, the use of mobile for research is growing, but there are greater obstacles. The main one is that the booking process

46、 is more lengthy and complex, and therefore more difficult to complete on a mobile device. SaleCycle data reflect this. It shows that, while the majority of traffic (58.9%) to travel sites comes from mobile devices, this traffic accounts for just 18.3% of bookings. Stats on flight bookings by Phocus

47、wright paint a very similar picture. When booking flights, 37% use mobile for shopping and research, but just 18% book on these devices, with a similar pattern for tablets. 14 SaleCycle Data Report Understanding Airline & Travel Booking Trends Smartphone Users Who Would Research, Book, and Plan an E

48、ntire Trip on a Mobile Device Google Consumer Insights, 2018 U.S 48% Brazil 67% France 44% Germany 27% U.K 45% India 87% Australia 45% Japan 59% South Korea 53% In a nutshell, many customers are happy to use mobile when researching travel purchases, but most prefer to complete the booking on a deskt

49、op. This doesnt mean that airlines cant attract bookings from mobile users. A lot of the issues can be addressed through better design and overall user experience on mobile. Indeed, there are plenty of smartphone users who happily research and book trips all on mobile. This trend is more pronounced in places like India where smartphone usage outnumbers desktop, but almost half of all smartphone users in the UK, US and France are happy to use mobile for the entire process. Part Two Tips to Increase Future Online Bookings 16 SaleCycle Dat