According to new independent research commissioned by global technology company Travelport, consumers want the travel industry to "get modern."
The study, titled “What Consumers Want,” revealed several issues consumers have with travel retailers, including lack of simplified experiences, easy support, and transparency.
Additionally, the report revealed that "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,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer at Travelport.
The “What Consumers Want” findings were pulled from over 2,000 responses of adults ages 18 and over from 5 countries including the U.S., the U.K., and Australia.
Key findings
The report found that consumers value time and transparency over price. The study showed that consumers spend more time online searching rather than buying, with 69 per cent of consumers researching a purchase online daily or weekly and only 2 per cent saying they never research a purchase online.
Travelport found that 93 per cent of respondents believe that the best modern retailers "make it easy for them to find exactly what they want."
Additionally, full transparency is what 90 per cent of consumers desire the most, with full product information revealed upfront in order to help them save time and gain confidence in their purchases. 59 per cent of respondents said that "getting exactly what they want is more important than how much they pay for it."
The study also found that consumers want human-led customer support. Three quarters of all respondents prefer to speak with a human (via chat or phone) when something goes wrong. Additionally, 83 per cent of younger consumers ages 18-41 actually want more human support compared to their elders, ages 42 and above.
Further, respondents shared that they value features like personalized offers.
When it comes to sustainable travel, the study found that 49 per cent of consumers would choose to spend more and 60 per cent would take longer, indirect transport routes to their destination to save on carbon (CO2) emissions when travelling. This willingness varies by age group, as the study found that 33 per cent of consumers ages 18–41 would travel 2–3 hours longer to save on CO2 emissions compared to only 19 per cent of consumers ages 42 and older.
More information is available at Travelport's website.
