PhoCusWright says “Online Traffic and Conversion Doing Well”
Our friends at PhoCusWright have come out with another report revealing that monthly traffic and conversion for travel websites is up in almost all travel categories in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same quarter of previous years. (Air being the only category that’s down – no surprise there.) Each area showed increases in traffic during the first half of 2009 compared to 2008 and 2007 when the company researched Online Travel Agencies and Travel Suppliers.
According to a PhoCusWright Press Release, the month of June revealed that visitors were strong with year-over-year growth. Almost all categories were up such as cruise lines – up 19 percent and hotel chains were up 13 percent.
“The reliance that consumers have on travel Web sites has not weakened one bit,” says Carroll Rheem, director, research at PhoCusWright in a press release. “Online channels are attracting, engaging and inspiring travelers who recognize that this year is actually a fantastic time to take a trip. Consumers are certainly spending less, but they are not giving up travel, nor are they turning away from the Web sites that offer them the selection and convenience they value.”
There are also signs that Online Travel Agencies and Supplier Web Sites are enhancing their ability to convert online shoppers to actual purchasers.
Don’t get too excited however, there are still a considerable amount of people who visit but don’t purchase according the report. (It’s what PhoCusWright calls “leakage”.) Online Travel Agencies are lagging behind suppliers, who are doing a better job of converting visitors into purchasers over their Online Travel Agencies counterpart. However, the average of actual purchasers is growing in both segments as consumers get more comfortable with the ease and convenience of shopping online. Monthly online conversion rates ranged from 20% for a car rental supplier to 0.2% for cruises booked via an Online Travel Agency.
Online travel agencies have shown a slight increases in hotel and car rental visitor volume in the first half of 2009 compared to 2008 and 2007. The only category to show a decline in traffic from 2008 through 2009 for Online Travel Agencies was air – which is down 15 percent. Still, air conversion has increased significantly over the same time period, according to the PhoCusWright report.
“The online travel ecosystem now supports a diverse variety of transactional and informational sites—each playing a role in how consumers research, shop for and purchase travel,” adds Rheem. “For example, we found that visitation to planning and review sites drives dramatic differences in hotel conversion rates. Understanding the intricate relationships that connect all travel sites is essential to setting the right strategic path.”
Don’t know if you noticed or not, but our September Trip of a Lifetime Sweepstakes has a survey attached to it to find out more about our customers. This ability to collect data gives YTB an edge in finding product and destinations our customers care about, which in turn can convert online shoppers to actual purchasers based on providing products they’re actually looking for.
Technology – Ain’t it grand?!
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Tags: Online Travel, PhoCusWright, Travel Bookings
