This is a guest blog post written by Geoff Galat, vice president of worldwide marketing at Tealeaf. In this entry, Geoff analyses mobile transactions in the travel industry.
Last month, we released some research looking at how UK consumers are using mobile devices to conduct transactions. The findings show that mobile ecommerce is experiencing a surge in popularity. 10 million online consumers in the UK said they have conducted a transaction using a mobile device in the last year, with 34% of these relating specifically to travel.
However, in what should be a convenient and simple way to shop, 83% of these consumers
experienced problems when they attempted to complete their mobile transactions. While this is perhaps not surprising for such a young channel, the reaction of consumers is startling., The vast majority (75%) of online adult consumers believe that there is no excuse for a mobile transaction not completing on the first attempt.
But the surprising statistics don't stop there with the majority of mobile consumers actually said that conducting a mobile transaction should yield a better experience than making the same purchase in store (51%) or at a computer (52%).
Increasing intolerance
In my mind, there are two fundamental reasons for this increased intolerance.
The first is that consumers see 'online' as one channel, regardless of the device they are using. While many travel companies are eager to have a specific mobile strategy, their customers aren't compartmentalising in the same way. Ecommerce has been around for 15 years, we are all happy using it and we expect to be able to use it when we like on the device of our choosing. And in some cases, our expectations on mobile devices seem to be higher. In other words, same business proposition, just a different platform.
The iPhone craze
This brings me onto the second main trend that created our high expectations of mobile. This trend has been driven by the company that really accelerated the smartphone craze: Apple. Watch any advert for the iPhone or iPad. The one thing that stands out is how incredibly easy these devices are to use. Apple has changed the way we think about mobile and has taught us to expect a good user experience on mobile devices.
So by piecing these two points together, we can begin to understand why consumer expectations for mobile transactions are so high. Consumers have high expectations of ecommerce in general and are no longer differentiating between the experience they receive on different devices.
It's time to act!
Travel companies have had a long time to get it right online, but with mobile they are not getting any benefit of the doubt. And the complications aren't decreasing any time soon. In the last two years it's been all about smartphones, for the next two it's going to be tablets. And who knows what will follow after that. Putting in place a platform-proofed strategy for the short and long term will be vital.
Mobile is still a young, developing digital trend, but consumers don't see it like this. Therefore travel businesses have to be ready to meet these short term expectations while also ensuring they are nimble and flexible enough to cope with the long term curveballs that will inevitably come their way. The rewards for those that manage it will be plentiful.
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