10 July 2008

Online becoming greater threat to high street agents

High street travel agents are becoming no more than brochure pick-up points as people increasing look online to research and book their holidays, a new study claims.

The research shows that the internet as the most popular place for people to research and book holidays and short breaks.

The study by user experience specialist Foolproof found that 87% intended to use the internet to research their next holiday or short break, with only 24% saying that they would go to high street travel agents or call operators.

The Online Shopping Survey also found that two-thirds (67%) planned to book their next holiday or short break online whereas only nine per cent would book by telephone and just eight per cent face-to-face.

The main purpose of going to the high street outlets was to pick up brochures. Only 13% said they would go to a high street outlet to talk to an adviser, according to the study.

Forty per cent of online travel shoppers visit and agent or operator to get the information they need before returning to their PCs to do the booking because not all their questions can be answered online.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThe picture is likely to get worse for high street brands as more and more of the UK population get online and follow this buying behaviour,Ã¢â¬~ the report said.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœCurrently, 60% of the UKÃ¢â¬â¢s adults are online and this is set to grow over the next five years meaning that the market for traditional holiday purchase will shrink.Ã¢â¬~

Well-known high street travel brands have been overtaken by online specialists such as Expedia and lastminute.com in terms of capturing the share of shoppersÃ¢â¬â¢ intentions to visit websites.

Twenty eight per cent said they would go to Expedia and 20% to lastminute.com for information compared to just 11% for Thomson and eight per cent for Thomas Cook.

But while the findings suggest that the high street travel brands are dying, they are not dead yet.

Foolproof founding partner Tom Wood said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœPeople have really embraced the web as a place to find out about their travel plans. The main reasons for this are the perceived convenience and ability to minimise the risk of making a poor choice. However, our in-depth research showed that the shopping journey isnÃ¢â¬â¢t as easy and hassle-free as it should be.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœSites are often difficult to use: forms are confusing and lists of results are often long, making it difficult for shoppers to compare options.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœIt seems that no one brand has yet provided shoppers with the experience they are looking for.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWhilst the online specialists like Lastminute and Expedia are good at attracting visitors through their online marketing activities they are not delivering the key things that shoppers want. That means that there is still an opportunity for high street brands to reclaim their share of voice in the online world.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœTo do that they need to invest more effort in improving their natural and sponsored search listings and make sure that their web content provides shoppers with a much more rewarding experience. Thomson is one of the few companies that have recognised this opportunity and it is now working with Foolproof to develop a travel site that meets customersÃ¢â¬â¢ needs more effectively.Ã¢â¬~

by Phil Davies

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Your Comments (8)

Nothing, But Nothing Can Beat A Real, Live Agent

Any travel agent should be able to exploit a walk-in. You have face-to-face contact, something an on-line ticket hawker will never have. Most agents have: 1. Knowledge of various forms of transportation to the suggested destination; knowledge about the destination and knowledge about the carrier / tour op; 2. Most on-line systems aren't bonded or offer financial security other than those offered by a credit card company; 3. What travel agent has long pages of terms and conditions? These are only necessary when a business seeks to escape, or minimise, liability; 4. On-ine bookers are useless at booking multi-segment flights. I always test them with a Quebec City or Winnipeg start point and a destination of Phnom Penh, Cambodia or Vientiane, Laos. I bet none will offer either optimal routing (avoiding the USA) or the cheapest flights; 5. A real live travel agent can offer many services, either unavailable or only with hassles from on-line hustlers, before, during and after a journey. Although I use my hand / cell phone for booking domestic / regional flights, I always use a real live agent, in Canada which is on the opposite side of the world from where I live, and have done for 30+ years, because I know a quick e-mail will get any problems sorted out by the time I hot my e-mail at my next airport; 6. Many on-line ticket sellers scrape the dregs of seats so they can fill every seat, for hidden financial benefits from the carriers, whereas a travel agent gets better seating. 7, No on-line system will hold a clients travel requests for days or weeks whilst it checks out many carrier / routing options as a real live travel agent can. They operate in real-time which is not always the most optimal way of purchasing travel. Travel agents should put up a web site - free (and banner free) hosting for all is available, with 10 e-mail addresses, at < www.DotEasy.com >, a server host our company has several hundreds of clients web sites on, not only filled with prices but stuffed with information / content only the knowledgeable can deliver. Guidebooks are dated when they hit the bookstands, particularly the one owned by the BBC, so there is an opportunity to get out there and get your name on these screens. And keep those pages refreshed with current news! It's hard work but it can pay off. FreeFone / 1-800 lines are a real sales boost, they can be forwarded to any staff who work out of their homes during non-office hours. Placing your Skype link on your web pages also offers dirct connection to potential clients. No, a good travel agent can exploit the InterNet. All they have to do is to stop moping about the competition and use the best features of the competitions web sites on your web site. Real live travel agents have so many ways to better the on-line majors, all they have to do is act. Finally, without the survey questions being made available, so as expose biased questions or format, any survey has minimal value.

By Jon Hewson, Sunday, July 13, 2008
No substitute for experience!

There is no online site that will give potential clients the in depth knowledge of a well travelled and experienced travel agent. Point recently a main on line agent (Name supplied) routed a passenger through New York to Fort Myers, allowing a three hour connecting time between JFK and EWR. Guess what both connections missed. Say no more

By michael poushkine, Friday, July 11, 2008
Do people really buy from people?

How do you explain the success of Amazon and numerous other online retailers? Travel actually suits online distribution better than almost any other industry due to the lack of a physical product. Given the growth of online sales you would have to be foolish not to think that to an extent online travel retailers are delivering what customers want, otherwise they would not be growing so quickly. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely.

By James Gambrill, Friday, July 11, 2008
Surely the answer is...

...not to have brochures so easily obtainable.

By W Shearer, Friday, July 11, 2008
Figure Manipulation

Dear Nicola Revell, You may have manipulated figures another way to show agents further in front, however my maths have always been excellent, read para 5 where it states 13% not 23%!!13+40=53. This is the basis of my calculation, now gives us the basis of yours.

By Paul Brewer, Friday, July 11, 2008
Figure manipulation vs bad maths

Dear Paul Brewer Interesting that you have picked up on the supposed manipulation of figures whilst at the same time your bad maths have given you only 53% still with High Street - check again and.......23%+40% equals 63% still with High Street.

By Nicola Revell, Friday, July 11, 2008
Figure Manipulation

So 67% of 60% who have on line facility, book on line this represents 40%. Whereas 13% + 40% without on line facility book with a High Street Agent this represents 53%, the High Street Agent according to the survey is still out in front by 13%!!

By Paul Brewer, Thursday, July 10, 2008
The web is great but not that great

Research conducted on line will always get high scores for on line solutions. How about coming here and asking the customers who are keeping us all busy booking holidays for them why they are here and not at home staring at a flickering screen in a darkened room. People buy from people and even more so if those people are well informed, knowledgeable and offer great customer service. The web can't beat that and if it then allows a hacker to steal your credit card details as well it is a real let down!

By Gates TravelService, Thursday, July 10, 2008