Report: Mobile Travel Bookings Increase 10 Fold in Past Year

Baggage on conveyor belt at the airport - selective focus

Criteo, the performance advertising technology company, revealed its Travel Flash Report which highlights the increased use of mobile devices in consumer travel planning and purchasing worldwide.

This report provides insight on both the share and value of bookings generated from mobile devices for travel websites including airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruises and apartments, and the impact this has on marketers’ advertising campaigns.

The Travel Flash Report represents the activity of more than 1,000 travel websites worldwide in the first half of 2014.

Key takeaways include:

Mobile bookings are growing faster than desktop: 20 per cent versus 2 per cent over the first six months of 2014.
Smartphones and tablets account for 21 per cent of hotel bookings.
Peer-to-peer apartment rentals is the category with highest mobile penetration (34 per cent globally).
The value of mobile bookings is increasing in every area except for accommodation. The average booking value was 21 per cent higher for air travel and 13 per cent higher for car rentals, but 30 per cent lower for hotel bookings on mobile devices than desktop.
In-app bookings account for 12 per cent of total mobile bookings.
The value of bookings by device varies across categories: there’s an average $600 more spent on packages booked on the iPad compared to those booked via any Android device. However, the value of Android bookings for flights outpaces all other mobile devices.

Regional Findings:

Asia Pacific leads the way with more than 20 per cent of travel bookings made on a mobile device, with Brazil and Germany less than 10 per cent.
With a 42 per cent increase, Latin America has the most significant seasonal growth in online bookings for travel advertisers. This coincided with the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Online travel agencies’ bookings climb by 50 per cent throughout the season in Europe and the US, but the average value of those bookings falls by 19 per cent. However, for hotel suppliers the booking numbers remain stable throughout the first half of 2014, with peaks in value in February and June.

“Mobile is the driving force behind the exponential growth in online travel booking and sales, and that’s only set to continue in the second half of this year and beyond,” said Jason Morse, vice president, mobile product at Criteo. “With smart phones and tablets in nearly every consumer’s hands today, travel marketers need to think strategically about developing a highly effective omni-channel marketing experience. That means ensuring the entire consumer experience – from the ads to shopping carts – is mobile optimised.”

“Determining budget across desktop and mobile must be completely fluid because consumers are making decisions in real-time, requiring that the booking experience be streamlined and integrated with mobile-friendly payment systems to ease the all-important path to purchase,” Morse added.

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