The Role of Mobile Devices in Researching Travel Options

I’m heading to London for SiteSpect’s Regional Optimization Exchange on March 18th. When I started making my travel plans, I was surprised by high airfares. To help find the best fare, I researched my options, using my smartphone while commuting and my iPad while watching TV. I also set up alerts for my specific travel dates and soon received an alert on my smartphone from an airline that was having a one-day sale — I booked my flight within the hour. In the end, my research paid off and I was able to save a significant amount on my airfare.

Just like me, more and more consumers are using multiple devices to research travel options. Earlier this month, eMarketer released its Mobile Commerce Roundup report, which highlights a shift in how consumers research travel options, estimating that approximately 50% of consumers will use a mobile device. In some cases, the only method consumers use for online travel research is a mobile device.

If you are in the hospitality industry, you know the importance of creating a consistent experience wherever your consumers find you, whether that’s a mobile app, or a via a web browser. You want your mobile site to mirror your main website while delivering an optimal experience. To help meet this goal, you will want to A/B test each of your mobile sites and apps.

There are many A/B tests you can run to optimize your mobile sites. Some basic A/B test ideas include:

• Booking rates – Do different devices affect conversion rates? Does one device outperform the others? Dive deeper to discover if there is a step in the booking process where potential consumers don’t convert.
• Outside ratings – Do ratings from third parties such as Yelp! and TripAdvisor increase the overall bookings on your mobile site or app?
• Loyalty members – What do members of your loyalty program experience across different devices? What about consumers who have not yet joined? And if your goals include converting non-members to members, how is that working?

Consumers are becoming more technologically advanced. More and more people are using mobile devices to interact with your brand. Are you ready?

SiteSpect can help you optimize your mobile presence. Our comprehensive optimization platform currently support apps built using native technologies, single page app design, responsive design, adaptive design, HTML5, JSON/XML, and more. We continuously monitor the mobile landscape to understand emerging technologies and to offer a complete mobile optimization solution.

To learn more about SiteSpect, visit our website.