Performance marketing technology company Criteo has unveiled the findings from its latest research on the growth of the mobile travel segment in India conducted by Euromonitor International.
The report highlights that mobile travel sales in India are rising and are further expected to grow at 67.1 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2017 to 2020. The report suggests CAGR of consumer expenditure on leisure would be 9.9 per cent from 2017 to 2020.
Dushyant Sapre, Commercial Director, Criteo India, said, "With the rise of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), an increase in domestic flights and mid-budget segment hotels, Indian travelers have started spending on leisure and travel heavily. Thus, the trend of weekend trips and seasonal travel has become popular among Indians. Tech-savvy millennials primarily browse for best travel packages and in-destination activities through their mobile phones and OTA mobile apps."
He added, "The biggest challenge faced by marketers today is providing a consistent consumer experience across online and offline."
The report further maps the evolving pattern of the Indian digital traveler and states that ownership of digital devices, accessibility to the internet, the convenience of online booking, various payment modes and favorable pricing are the key driving forces for online travel shopping.
Indian travellers do intensive research
The price conscious, smart Indian traveller does intensive research and compares prices before buying a travel package online. Therefore, about 59 per cent people browse travel websites over the weekend, according to the survey. About 80 per cent of people from all age groups prefer to browse and search for travel products and services when they are at home.
Preference for mobiles
The research says, millennials (54 per cent) and baby boomers (44 per cent) most often use the smartphone for online browsing of travel products and services, while Gen Xers (49 per cent) use laptops.
Millennials and baby boomers browse for travel products online mostly because of convenience, however, Gen Xers look for accessibility. The survey further highlighted that on average, a person took 6.7 trips in the past 12 months with an average spending on a leisure trip of Rs 55,176 while debit and credit cards are the most popular modes of payment.
Personalised digital advertising
As per the report, 90 per cent of the target audience has seen retargeted ads and 68 per cent have clicked on retargeted ads while browsing. When it comes to advertising of OTAs, platforms on social media have garnered them massive brand recall values. This is also an attribute to overall online travel sales growth.
Travelers these days prefer booking online directly with airlines or hotels, or through OTAs mainly because it's easier to change and cancel their bookings. Also, the user-friendly interface and cheap deals attract their attention.
Travel website reviews
According to the report, 57 per cent of Indian digital travelers are most influenced by travel website reviews, posts and forums, especially in the case of millennials. However, they are also influenced by experience from their last trip (50 per cent), as well as internet advertisements of the destination and travel services (56 per cent), respectively.
Consumers are drawn to the fact that online shopping can help them save time, compare prices easily, and provide best deals. These are also among the key drivers of online travel sales.
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
