Travelport has released a report based on research it commissioned, revealing that consumers want the travel industry to ‘get modern’, but retain the human touch.
According to Travelport, the study, ‘What Consumers Want’, reveals multiple gaps that explain the lack of trust customers have in travel retailers, namely the lack of simplified and intuitive experiences, easy support and transparency. For the travel industry, this insight offers valuable considerations and opportunities to generate more sales and customer loyalty.
“The travel industry is poised to build on the goodwill it earned during the pandemic by getting modern and giving consumers the simple, easy and supportive experience they expect,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer at Travelport. “According to new research commissioned by Travelport, customers prefer shopping in every other retailing sector over travel. Now that the industry is recovering, there is an enormous opportunity for travel brands to reinvest in their customer experiences, earning them customer loyalty while increasing their revenue simultaneously. It’s a win-win.”
The report shows…
*93% of consumers say the best retailers make it easy to find the products they want. With various options available for every aspect of a trip, this is particularly crucial for travel retailers. Full transparency is what most consumers (90%) desire most, meaning modern retailers must share full product information upfront in order to help consumers save time and gain confidence in their purchases.
*59% of consumers say getting exactly what they want is more important than how much they pay for it.
More human support
*83% of younger consumers aged 18-41 want more human-led customer support; 77% of respondents, regardless of age, have interacted with a chatbot. However, just a quarter of ‘digital natives’, (age group 18-41), use them frequently. Three-quarters of all respondents prefer to speak with a human (via chat or phone) when something goes wrong.
But what was unexpected is that more (83%) younger consumers aged 18-41 actually want more human support than their elders, age 42 and above. Furthermore, consumers in the study valued easy returns and exchanges (43%), filtered options (40%) and personalised offers (29%). These factors clearly indicate that more personal support is valued at every stage of the retail journey, from research to purchase and post-purchase experiences.
Carbon-conscious consumers
*60% of consumers say they would take longer transport routes to their destination to save carbon emissions. And 49% would choose to spend more on travel to save carbon emissions. The study results show (33%) of consumers aged 18-41 would travel two to three hours longer to save on carbon emissions, compared with only (19%) of older consumers, age 42 and older.
The survey was conducted by Toluna Research, commissioned by Travelport. The research sample comprised 2 000 consumers from Australia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, UK and the US.
