08 February 2010

Holiday spend to be slashed Ã¢â¬Åâœby as much as 50%Ã¢â¬~ this year

One in four people are looking to spend less on their holidays by as much as 50% this year.

And almost half of people (48%) are more likely to shop online to capture the best deals to save money, according to a new study.

The majority (87%) of the 2,028 consumers surveyed in the first week in January had held off from booking holidays during the Christmas period when travel companies traditionally start advertising early booking discounts.

The online travel sector has witnessed the biggest growth in bookings across the retail sector, according to a recent survey conducted by eDigitalResearch.

It found that 12% more people booking travel products online this year than last.

With more people moving online, customer expectations are growing as a result of the increased convenience and control that the online space affords them, the research company claimed.

The e-Customer Service Index (eCSI) survey was conducted by Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG) and eDigitalResearch

IMRG operations director David Smith said: "This marks a shift in consumer purchasing behaviour as more people are swayed by better holiday deals online and are less likely to plan so far in advance.

"With retailers announcing bumper sales figures over the festive season, it is clear that people preferred to spend their money on instant gratification, as opposed to planning their sunny getaways.

"With another tough year ahead for travel, it is important that companies capture the growing online bookings market with better deals and a better user experience."

The poll also highlights that such growing online expectations have partly contributed to a drop of one per cent in overall customer satisfaction across the entire retail sector.

Many people who have gone online have been frustrated by poor telephone and email support, with customer service contact dropping by two per cent since last October.

Chris Russell, eDigitalResearch co-founder and director, said: "One of the biggest reasons for a drop in satisfaction is the inability to deal or resolve customer queries quickly.

"Call volumes are generally higher during the January sales and adverse weather conditions have further compounded this with more people questioning delivery times and dates.

"To reduce pressure on busy call centres, companies need to address the online self-help function so that customers can answer their questions quickly, without the need to pick up the phone.

"With more people hunting for better deals online with less disposable income, companies need to concentrate on ensuring that the customer journey is seamless from the homepage to the purchase and delivery.

"While they may be investing more of their marketing budgets online, it is important to look beyond the wow factor and balance clear engaging content with good customer service support."

by Phil Davies

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Your Comments (2)

Surveys can be manipulated.

True we operate in a small vertical market place, but as an online retailer we have experienced a huge increase in bookings this year compared to last year, I do not think we are unique. Yet I would take any survey made in January with a pinch of salt. What people say they will do whilst getting over the Christmas expense and what many actually do after the January salary hits the bank is all too often totally different. The poor experience some people have whilst trying to use online travel services does not surprise me one bit. It never ceases to amaze me how badly many businesses who use the WWW to market their product actually perform in response to email enquiries. Goody! goody! And long may it stay that way! Many web site owners still fail to grasp the concept that an email enquiry is a polite telephone call thus needs answering within a few hours. Any more than 12 to 18 hours and it is a dead enquiry. As a company our response rate has to be 70% of enquiries answered within 4 hours of receipt and 100% within 12 hours. Excellent communication is critical to a web site's success rate. For all we live in a digital world people still like their hands holding and the experience of dealing with a warm breathing individual. Not a server in the ether some place. You can deliver a good experience online to potential clients, but it takes effort. A web site has never made a poor sales operation good, but it can help a good sales operation fly! We used to convert 1 in 3 enquiries last year, (which is the industry average I believe)This year every other enquiry converts to a sale Looking at our figures so far for the 2010 season we currently experience a 60% return of clients within 2 years and 40% every year yet we only market one small part of an Ionian island. But all of that said I do feel high street and main stream travel agents ignore the internet at their own peril. A web site is not a fashion accessory, it is the most powerful marketing tool there is, but only in the hands of a professional internet sales operation.

By Paul Davis, Wednesday, February 10, 2010
There's nothing like a good survey

These surveys just seem to be compiled to satisfy the myth that Online travel sales are taking over the World. Customers traditionally hold off until the second week of January before the booking season really gets under way, though we did find it started a few days earlier than normal. That more people will book online is obvious, more customers decide to use technology in favour of call centres and teletext the traditional transactional vehicles. But that doesn't mean that online booking will be the only game in town.By the surveys own figures 52% will still not book online. Then the survey claims that 'The online travel sector has witnessed the biggest growth in bookings across the retail sector, according to a recent survey conducted by eDigitalResearch' Does this mean compared to the retail travel sector or the retail sector generally? It's noticeabe that the conclusion of less customer satisfaction is the blamed on the public's higher expectations rather than the failure of online companies to deliver. At Travel Counsellors we invest in technology like no other company but our real and biggest investment is in our people, our Travel Counsellors and their relationships with customers. In the UK from the 1st January until yesterday our sales are up 17%, our average spend is up 4%. These are actual figures not surveys of what customers may do or tell the survey what they might do. David Speakman Chairman Travel Counsellors

By David Speakman, Monday, February 8, 2010