International research highlights how overwhelmed customers feel when booking travel due to newfound proliferation of offers
-- 58% of travelers feel overwhelmed by too many choices
-- 56% of travelers say airline offers are more difficult to understand now
than they were 10 years ago
-- 71% of travelers feel anxious about whether they got the best deal after
they've booked their trip
-- 88% of travelers would prefer to see all flight options and fares on one
screen
LANGLEY, United Kingdom, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelport [https://www.travelport.com/], a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, today released its 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report. Combining international independent research, cross-industry comparisons and consumer insights, the headline of 2024's report asserts that searching and booking travel directly from travel providers has become more time-consuming and complicated than ever.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg [https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg]
"Despite travel providers favoring direct-to-consumer connections, the sheer volume of options is overwhelming to travelers, making them less confident in their booking choices," said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer at Travelport. "Our research found that instead of feeling excited after booking a trip, most travelers are left feeling anxious, wondering if they got the best deal. For the travel industry, this signals a growing need and opportunity for travel agencies. Their expertise in comparison shopping aids travelers in confidently booking the best option, based on their personal preferences."
KEY STUDY HIGHLIGHTS:
More Choice Leaves Travelers Feeling Overwhelmed
-- Travelport estimates that air travel options have gone from about 500
economy/ business options available in 2010 to over 10,000 options in
2024 (economy, economy plus, flexi- family, business, first, etc.).
That's a 1,900% increase.
-- The majority of travelers (58%) feel that the volume of choice is
overwhelming.
-- 56% of travelers say that airline offers are more difficult to
understand now than they were 10 years ago.
-- 61% of travelers also believe there are more penalties now when changing
a flight than there were 10 years ago, with 66% citing that there are
too many hidden fees.
-- The majority of travelers (71%) sometimes feel anxious about whether
they got the best deal after they've booked their trip, with 42% feeling
like airline offers have become 'less suitable' over time in meeting
their personal preferences.
DTC (Direct to Consumer) Feels More Like Difficult to Compare
-- Most travelers (80%) agree that comparing fares from different airlines
is very time-consuming, with more than two-thirds (69%) feeling that
information is often restricted on some airline booking sites.
-- When it comes to shopping for all components of their trip, 60% said
they spend an average of one to four hours planning, while more than
one-third (36%) spend more than five hours searching and comparing
options before booking.
-- Most respondents (88%) agree they would prefer to see all flight options
and fares on one screen, which is likely the reason that more than half
(54%) said they frequently use a comparison site to search for
information before purchasing their ticket.
-- The majority of Millennial (70%) and Gen X (64%) travelers often use
online travel agencies (OTAs) to book, citing choice and price
transparency as the primary reasons.
-- Travelers are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more
than just a chatbot, and agencies will increasingly rely on their
technology partners to implement AI and ML (machine learning) in
creative ways, such as Travelport's Content Curation Layer
[https://www.travelport.com/press-release/launch-of-revolutionary-conten
t-curation-layer-ccl-for-travel-agencies-highlights-travelports-ai-strat
egy].
Amenities That Matter Most
-- When booking flights, respondents said that luggage allowance (63%),
cancellation and change policies (50%) and seat selection (50%) are the
most important factors to compare.
-- Most travelers (63%) also stated that they feel airlines do not put the
customer first when it comes to customer servicing matters (flight
cancellations, exchanges, etc.)
-- The hotel features that were cited as most important to travelers were
WiFi availability (48%), complimentary breakfast options (47%), and
hotel facilities (45%).
International Insights
-- Dynamic pricing and offers among US-based airlines could be complicating
the retailing experience for American travelers, as more US respondents
(49%) feel shopping for flights takes more time than comparing hotels
(40%), car rentals (8%) and restaurants (3%).
-- Additionally, more US travelers (47%) feel like airline offers are not
customized to their needs, compared to travelers from Germany (34%),
South Africa (35%) and the U.K. (45%).
-- Unlike American respondents, hotel shopping is the more time-consuming
experience for travelers from Germany (52%), South Africa (54%) and the
UK (59%).
"Travel providers are continually refining and expanding their offerings to fit their customers unique needs and preferences," Catto added. "Prioritizing partnerships with agencies will ensure a truly personalized service to their travelers. That will make the shopping experience seamless for all."
For more information and to read the 2024 State of Modern Retailing report, please visit Travelport.com/difficult-to-compare [https://www.travelport.com/difficult-to-compare].
Notes for Editors
-- The survey was conducted by Travelport using the Toluna Research
platform.
-- The research sample consisted of 1,659 consumers from Germany, South
Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States that have taken at
least one or more flights for business or leisure within the last 12
months.
About Travelport
Travelport [https://www.travelport.com/] is a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and sellers of travel are connected by the company's next generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing. Headquartered in the United Kingdom and operating in more than 165 countries around the world, Travelport is focused on driving innovation that simplifies the complex travel ecosystem.
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg [https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg]
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/travelport-releases-first-annual-2024-state-of-modern-retailing-report-302201339.html [https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/travelport-releases-first-annual-2024-state-of-modern-retailing-report-302201339.html]
Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1481912/TRAVELPORT_LOGO_BLACK_CMYK_Logo.jpg TravelportCONTACT: Katie Cline, Senior Director, Global Head of External
Communications, katie.cline@travelport.com, Jennifer Blackburn, Senior
External Communications Manager, jennifer.blackburn@travelport.com, Beau
Avis, External Communications Coordinator, beau.avis@travelport.com
