New Research Shows What Consumers Want in Terms of Modern Travel

New research shows what consumers want when it comes to travelling. Apparently, what they wish for is an easy, modern travel experience.

93% of consumers believe the best retailers make it easy for them to find what they need. 83% of 18- to 41-year-olds want better customer service. 60% of respondents say they would prefer to travel long distances to reach their destination, and 49% would rather spend more money to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Travelport, a global technology company that manages bookings for thousands of travel suppliers around the world, has conducted independent research to find out what consumers want. The study entitled "What Consumers Want" revealed numerous gaps that explained the low trust customers have in travel retailers. These include a lack of simple and intuitive experiences, support, and transparency. This insight is valuable for the travel industry and offers opportunities to increase 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," mentioned 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 Key Findings of a Study

Transparency and time are more important than the price

Travelport's study supports the belief that "time is money" and found that consumers spend more time searching online than buying. This includes consulting reviews, looking for recommendations, and looking into other aspects of an offer. A majority of online shoppers (69%) research purchases online at least once a week, while only 2 percent say they have never done so. Travelport found that 93% of consumers believe that modern retailers make it easy to find what they are looking for. This is especially important for travel retailers, who have many options for all aspects of a trip. 90% of consumers want full transparency. This means that retailers need to share all product information upfront. Retailers will reap the benefits of doing so. In fact, 59 percent of respondents said that it is more important to get exactly what you want than how much it costs.

Even Gen Z desires human-led, convenient customer support

77% of respondents to the study have used chatbots, regardless of their age. Only 25% of the theoretical "digital natives" (ages 18-41) use them often. Three quarters of respondents prefer to talk with a person (via chat or telephone) when something goes wrong. However, it was surprising that younger consumers (18-41 years old) actually need more support than their elders (age 42 and over). The study also revealed that consumers value easy returns and exchanges (43%) as well as filtered options (40%), and personalized offers (29%). These indicators clearly show that consumers value more personal support at all stages of the retail experience, from research to purchase to post-purchase.

For sustainability, consumers will travel longer and spend more.

Consumers are concerned about sustainability and climate change, particularly if they love to travel. The Travelport study found that almost half (49%) of respondents would prefer to spend more, and more (60%) would travel longer distances to get to their destination. This is in order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The study results reveal that 33% of consumers aged 18 to 41 would travel 2-3 hours more to reduce CO2 emissions than those who are 42 years old and (19%) over the age of 42.

Source: traveldailynews.com