理解航班和旅游预定趋势报告.pdf

Understanding Airline Strong Airline Profitability Continues in 2018Who 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 Booking TrendsTrusted by the worlds biggest and best travel brands:03SaleCycle Data Report“Our mission is to inspire, shape, and support the conversions that exist within every customer journey.”Dominic Edmunds, Founder & CEO SaleCycleWe use behavioral data to help optimize conversion rates, recover abandoned sales and increase customer lifetime value. The end result? Increased online sales.Part One | SaleCycle Airline & Travel Booking TrendsThe Issue of AbandonmentTrends in Booking Timings Why Do People Abandon?Where Are We Going?How Do We Book?Part Two | Tips to Increase Future Online BookingsIntroductionRecognize Your CustomerEnrich the User ExperienceThink Mobile FirstLet Them Pay Their WayProvide a Sense of Urgency Use Booking Abandonment Emails Provide Flexible Search OptionsConclusion04Understanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsSaleCycle Data ReportContents 06.08.10.12.13.16.17.18.19.19.20.20.20.21.Part OneSaleCycle Airline & Travel Booking Trends Calendar Year 201806The Issue of AbandonmentSaleCycle Data ReportUnderstanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsAirline abandonment rates are reasonably steady throughout the year, between around 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 visitors 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, showing that this is the time when most decisions JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DECAverage Abandonment Rate by Month 2018 SaleCycle Client DataAverage Airline Abandonment RateAverage Travel Abandonment Rate80.80%80.71%83.10%82.67%81.80%80.79%82.24%80.59%80.58%79.78%80.62%82.01%87.75%88.41%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 DataAirlinesTravelFinanceNon-ProfitRetailFashion87.87%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 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 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 airlines, this booking completion figure is even lower, at 1.8%.07SaleCycle Data ReportUnderstanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsTravel Booking Funnel Data SaleCycle Client Data100%Total Sessions45.8%Product Viewed17.6%Booking Process Started3.1%Completed Bookingare made. It, therefore, makes 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 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 of 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, they 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 customers are to abandon.08SaleCycle Data ReportUnderstanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsThe 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 then, 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 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 TimingsJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCT NOVDECBooking and Abandonment Monthly Trends 2018 SaleCycle Airline Client DataTotal Sales VolumeAbandoned Booking VolumeAprils 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 to secure their chosen flights and hotels at this point and arent prepared to wait longer and run the risk of missing out. 09SaleCycle Data ReportUnderstanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsDay of Week Trends 2018 SaleCycle Airline Client DataMON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUNDirect Sales Volumes by Day of Week 2018MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUNBooking Abandonment Volumes by Day of Week 2018MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUNRecovered Sales Volumes by Day of Week 2018MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUNTotal Sales Volumes by Day of Week 2018When looking at weekly trends we can see that the total sales (direct sales and recovered sales) 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 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 2019Theres no typical travel shopper - some seem to book in plenty of time, while many are booking last minute. This may reflect different 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 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.10SaleCycle Data ReportUnderstanding Airline & Travel Booking TrendsWhy Do People Abandon? Reasons for Booking Abandonment SaleCycle Booking Abandonment Survey Datamultiple selections possibleJust LookingPrice Too High/Want to Compare PricesNeed to Check with OthersBooking Process Was Too LongTechnical IssueLack of Payment Options39%37%21%13%9%7%A key factor for airline booking 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 find 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, unless 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 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 looking, 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 form fields, and some may not be technical issues but the result of unclear form fields or poor user interface design.