Sources: Skift Content Studio and Amadeus
According to Skift, the two most important factors for the travel industry in the battle of booking online are speed and relevance. Travel brands are losing sales rapidly because a page simply will not load fast enough for the consumer. Metasearch sites recognize this, and are combining speed, relevance, and content depth in order to change the online booking travel industry.
The modern consumer expects fast and relevant results after searching anything online, especially if it’s travel-related. In the instance of travel booking, consumers will simply not accept long wait times for search results to load. Therefore, if your travel site takes too long to load, you may be kissing that sale (or sales) goodbye.
Every Second Counts
In fact, 47% of online shoppers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. 40% of online shoppers will abandon a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. A whopping 52% of consumers say they will wait no more than five seconds for a webpage to load before becoming frustrated and leaving the site entirely. See: travel search and "How to Fix One Thing That Costs Online Retailers Millions in Sales."
Amazon has calculated that a page load slowdown of just 1 second could cost $1.6 billion in sales each year. That's one expensive second.
According to SalesCycle, online cart abandonment rates for the travel industry are currently over 80%. This rate could be improved by simply making your website 1 second faster. 1 second!
Relevancy is Key
Although speed is one of the most important needs in the booking battle, metasearch has been thriving in relevance for years. What is a metasearch engine? A search tool that uses another search engine's data to produce their own results from the Internet.
Metasearch engines offer travel searchers with a browsing experience to compare options and pricing while keeping shoppers engaged.
Personalization is extremely important when trying to keep a travel shopper in one place. As technology continues to evolve, it’s become easier to deliver more personalized results to travel shoppers. For example, if a booker’s search history indicates that they prefer a window seat on a flight, metasearch engines show results to accommodate those preferences, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
When it comes to booking travel online, every second matters for consumers. With the smart execution of speed, relevance and depth of content paving the way towards a better user experience, metasearch sites are looking increasingly viable to win consumer travel spend. - Amadeus.
Keep in mind travel brands: NOTHING beats face-to-face marketing. Make your brand known by participating in the Travel & Adventure Show, the best outlet for face-to-face marketing for travel brands.
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