Mobile search and search results have seen a significant increase in overall satisfaction wave on wave. Detailed analysis reveals that higher quality images and better clarity of pricing are the two main drivers behind higher satisfaction rates for search results on a mobile, while a wider range of search options is behind the rise in satisfaction when searching for holidays or flights on a mobile device.
LONDON -The mobile experience of the world’s top travel brands is almost as good as the experience offered on desktop sites, according to the latest multichannel eTravel Benchmark results from Voice of the Customer specialists eDigitalResearch.
eDigitalResearch measured the digital customer experience – including desktop, mobile sites and mobile apps – for eighteen of the UKs leading travel brands and found that, for some areas of the customer journey, mobile experiences are now as good as traditional websites.
Mobile search and search results have seen a significant increase in overall satisfaction wave on wave. Detailed analysis reveals that higher quality images and better clarity of pricing are the two main drivers behind higher satisfaction rates for search results on a mobile, while a wider range of search options is behind the rise in satisfaction when searching for holidays or flights on a mobile device.
Booking.com continues to lead the multichannel travel experience with a consistently strong score across all three digital touch points. Booking.com offers a well optimised experience across all devices and users particularly liked the site’s dynamic pop-up messages with latest price trends or booking information, as well as speedy search results.
Hotel agents continue to dominate the eTravel Benchmark league table, with Hotels.com and Late Rooms claiming second and thirds spots respectively, while Expedia and KLM complete the top five.
For the first time in the benchmark’s history, Holiday Inn scored top marks for their app following a recent overhaul and upgrade. With a top score of 81.6%, their new generation app puts them in line with multichannel leaders Booking.com. Users particularly liked the apps new look and feel, as well as the welcome page introducing first time users to new features.
Steve Brockway, Director of Research (UK), comments, “It appears that after several years of trying, travel brands are starting to offer holiday makers as good of an experience on their mobile as they are getting on a more traditional desktop site. Since starting to track the multichannel travel experience in 2012, we’ve gradually watched the mobile experience improve and improve and now, at some parts of the customer journey, users are getting the same brand experience no matter the device they are using.
“As mobile continues to grow in popularity, there will soon come a time when the mobile customer experience will overtake traditional desktop sites. However, when that day does come (and it could come as soon as this year) digital customer experiences across varying brands will differ only very slightly – we’re already seeing minimal differences between top performing brands. Instead, to make experiences really stand out from the competition, brands need to be investing in their service and customer support. With more consumers heading online to book and browse, on and offline support will become the foundation for a fantastic customer experiences”.
Best Western, Late Rooms and Booking.com currently top the customer support league table. Users look favourably on brands when their customer service contact details are simple and easy to find. Best Western prominently display their customer service phone number on the homepage while Booking.com use searchable FAQ’s and localised contact details for their international customer base.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
