Eyefortravel - Mobile Technology In Travel Report Consumer Insight

The School of Mobile:

Report

Vol. 3: Consumer Insight

EyeforTravel Research 7-9 Fashion Street London E1 6PX UK For queries contact: [email protected] www.eyefortravelresearch.com EyeforTravel Ltd, July 2009

2

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Methodology

12

1. Mobile Services Access Trends

13

1.1

Mobile browser access

13

1.2

Mobile applica�on access

19

1.3

SMS access

25

2. The Mobile Traveller

21

2.1

Age 2.1.1 Mobile browser users 2.1.2 Mobile applica�ons users 2.1.3 SMS informa�on access users

33 33 35 38

2.2

Gender 2.2.1 Mobile browser users 2.2.2 Mobile applica�on users 2.2.3 SMS informa�on access users

41 41 43 44

2.3

Income 2.3.1 Mobile browser users 2.3.2 Mobile applica�on users 2.3.3 SMS informa�on access users

46 46 48 50

2.4

Length of mobile ownership 2.4.1 Mobile browser users 2.4.2 Mobile applica�on users 2.4.3 SMS informa�on access users

53 53 54 54

3. A snapshot of the UK mobile consumer

56

3.1

Percep�ons on mobile and personal space

56

3.2

How responsive may UK consumers be to mobile marke�ng?

60

3.3

Who is the UK mobile consumer? 3.3.1 Mobile web access by age 3.3.2 Mobile web access by gender 3.3.3 Mobile web access by income 3.3.4 Mobile web access by frequency of travel

63 64 66 66 67

3.4

Percep�ons of the mobile web and factors in its use

68

3.5

Is mobile working or will mobile work in travel? 3.5.1 In what travel context is the mobile web being used? 3.5.2 What and where in the buying cycle may mobile work for UK consumers?

70 70 71

3.6

How ready are UK consumer to make mobile payments?

82

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

3

Technology in Travel Report Vol. 3: Consumer Insight

List of Figures Figure 1: Figure 2: Figure 3: Figure 4: Figure 5: Figure 6: Figure 7: Figure 8: Figure 9: Figure 10: Figure 11: Figure 12: Figure 13: Figure 14: Figure 15: Figure 16: Figure 17: Figure 18: Figure 19: Figure 20: Figure 21: Figure 22: Figure 23: Figure 24: Figure 25:

4

Any mobile news or services accessed via Mobile Browser, subscriber volume by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any mobile news or services accessed via Mobile Browser, subscriber volume by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Any Mobile Browser access penetra�on, % by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any Mobile Browser access penetra�on, % by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Travel Service* access via browser subscriber volume by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Travel Service access via browser subscriber volume by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Access of Travel Services by browser (penetra�on %), trend by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Access of Travel Services by browser (penetra�on %), trend by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Growth % of users accessing informa�on/services via mobile browser (Three month average ending December 2008 on December 2007) Any mobile news or services accessed via an applica�on, subscriber volume by market, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any mobile news or services accessed via an applica�on, subscriber volume by market, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Any mobile news or services accessed via an applica�on penetra�on, % by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any mobile news or services accessed via an applica�on penetra�on, % by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Travel Service access via applica�on subscriber volume by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Travel Service access via applica�on subscriber volume by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Travel Services access via applica�on penetra�on %, trend by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Travel Services access via applica�on penetra�on %, trend by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Growth % of users accessing informa�on/services via mobile applica�on (Three month average ending December 2008 on December 2007) Any mobile news or services access via SMS (volume by country), 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any mobile news or services access via SMS (volume by country), 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Any Mobile SMS access penetra�on, % by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Any Mobile SMS access penetra�on, % by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Travel Service access via SMS subscriber volume by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages Travel Service access via SMS subscriber volume by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Travel Services access via SMS penetra�on %, trend by country, 03/06 to 12/08, 3 months averages

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

13 14 14 14 15 16 17 17 18 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28

Figure 26: Figure 27: Figure 28: Figure 29: Figure 30: Figure 31: Figure 32: Figure 33: Figure 34: Figure 35: Figure 36: Figure 37: Figure 38: Figure 39: Figure 40: Figure 41: Figure 42: Figure 43: Figure 44: Figure 45: Figure 46: Figure 47: Figure 48: Figure 49: Figure 50: Figure 51: Figure 52: Figure 53: Figure 54: Figure 55: Figure 56: Figure 57: Figure 58: Figure 59:

Travel Services access via SMS penetra�on %, trend by country, 02/08 to 02/09, 3 months averages Growth % of users accessing informa�on/services via SMS (Three month average ending December 2008 on December 2007) Average growth across all examined countries for ‘Any news or info’, 3 month ending February 2009 on 3 months ending February 2008 Average growth across all examined countries for ‘Accessed Travel Service’, 3 month ending February 2009 on 3 months ending February 2008 Age comparison by type of informa�on accessed via mobile browser (%), February 2009 Travel services accessed via mobile browser - Age comparison (%) by country, February 2009 The propor�on of mobile users accessing any news and info via mobile browsers (by age), February 2009 Travel services via mobile browser penetra�on by country and age, February 2009 Age breakdown by type of applica�on access and country, February 2009 Travel services accessed via mobile applica�on - Age comparison (%) by country, February 2009 Propor�on of each age bracket accessing any news and informa�on via a mobile applica�on (%), February 2009 Travel services via mobile applica�on penetra�on by country and age, February 2009 The age of users accessing any informa�on by SMS, February 2009 Travel services accessed via SMS - Age comparison (%) by country, February 2009 The propor�on of each age band who access any news or informa�on via SMS (%), February 2009 Travel services via SMS penetra�on by country and age, February 2009 Gender breakdown by type of browser access and country, February 2009 Any news or informa�on via mobile browser: penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Travel service via mobile browser: penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Ra�o of penetra�on between male and female respondents (Penetra�on for males divided by penetra�on for females) - Browser access Gender breakdown by type of applica�on access and country, February 2009 Any news or informa�on via mobile applica�on penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Travel services via mobile applica�on penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Ra�o of penetra�on between male and female respondents (Penetra�on for males divided by penetra�on for females) - Mobile applica�ons, February 2009 Gender breakdown by type of SMS access and country, February 2009 Any news or informa�on via SMS penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Travel service via SMS penetra�on by country and gender, February 2009 Ra�o of penetra�on between male and female respondents (Penetra�on for males divided by penetra�on for females) - SMS, February 2009 Income breakdown by type of mobile browser access and country, November 2008 Any news or informa�on via mobile browser penetra�on by country and income, November 2008 Travel services via mobile browser penetra�on by country and income, November 2008 Income breakdown by type of Applica�on access and country, November 2008 Any news or informa�on via mobile applica�on penetra�on by country and income, November 2008 Travel services via mobile applica�on penetra�on by country and income, Nov 2008

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

List of Figures

List of Figures

28 29 30 31 33 34 34 35 36 37 37 37 38 38 39 39 41 41 42 42 43 43 44 44 44 45 45 45 46 47 48 48 49 50

5

Technology in Travel Report Vol. 3: Consumer Insight

Figure 60: Figure 61: Figure 62: Figure 63: Figure 64: Figure 65: Figure 66: Figure 67: Figure 68: Figure 69: Figure 70: Figure 71: Figure 72: Figure 73: Figure 74: Figure 75: Figure 76: Figure 77: Figure 78: Figure 79: Figure 80: Figure 81: Figure 82: Figure 83: Figure 84: Figure 85: Figure 86: Figure 87: Figure 88: Figure 89: Figure 89: Figure 90: Figure 91: Figure 92: Figure 93: Figure 94: Figure 95: Figure 96: Figure 97:

6

Income breakdown by type of SMS access and country, November 2008 Any news or informa�on via SMS penetra�on by country and income, November 2008 Travel services via SMS penetra�on by country and income, November 2008 Ownership length vs. Access of any news and informa�on via mobile browser, Nov 2008 Ownership length vs. Access of any news and informa�on via mobile applica�on, November 2008 Ownership length vs. Access of any news and informa�on via SMS, November 2008 “My mobile phone is more ‘personal’ than my computer” “My mobile phone number is more ‘personal’ than my email address” “How willing are you to share the following informa�on...?” “What do you LOVE about your mobile?” “What do you HATE about your mobile?” “What do you FEEL about your mobile?” “What do you WISH about your mobile?” “I am happy to get some promo�onal SMS messages from companies I buy from” “I do not want any promo�onal SMS messages no ma�er what” “I do not respond to promo�onal SMS I receive on my mobile” “Have you ever responded to any of the following mobile promo�onal messages?” “Have you ever responded to any of the following mobile promo�onal messages?” Breakdown by age “In the last month, roughly how many of the following marke�ng messages have you received?” Frequency of mobile web access Mobile Internet access vs. phone type Who is accessing the mobile web frequently? - Breakdown by age Who is never accessing the mobile web? - Breakdown by age Frequency of mobile web access by gender Who is accessing the mobile web frequently? - Breakdown by income Who is never accessing the mobile web? - Breakdown by income Days of travel for business vs. frequency of mobile web access Days of travel for leisure vs. frequency of mobile web access Percep�ons of mobile web use “What are the best things about being able to access the internet on your mobile phone?” “How o�en do you access the mobile web in the following situa�ons?” “What holds you back from using your mobile to access the internet more when travelling?” “How appealing would it be to do the following on your mobile phone before you travelled?” “How appealing would it be to receive last minute deals on your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds it appealing to receive last minute deals on their mobile phone before travelling? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to change bookings via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds it appealing to be able to change a booking on their mobile phone before travelling? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to hire a car via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile car rental booking before travelling an appealing op�on? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

51 51 52 53 54 54 56 56 57 57 58 58 59 60 60 61 61 62 62 63 64 65 65 66 66 67 67 68 68 69 70 70 71 72 72 73 73 73 74

Figure 98: Figure 99: Figure 100: Figure 101: Figure 102: Figure 103: Figure 104: Figure 105: Figure 106: Figure 107: Figure 108: Figure 109: Figure 110: Figure 111: Figure 112: Figure 113: Figure 114: Figure 115: Figure 116: Figure 117: Figure 118: Figure 119: Figure 120: Figure 121: Figure 122:

“How appealing would it be to book a hotel for overnight stay via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile hotel booking (for an overnight stay) before travelling an appealing op�on? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to book a hotel for your main holiday via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile hotel booking (for main stay) before travelling an appealing op�on? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to book a cruise or package via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile cruise or package bookings before travelling an appealing op�on? Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to book a train via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile train bookings before travelling an appealing op�on? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to book a flight via your mobile phone BEFORE you travelled?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile flight bookings before travelling an appealing op�on? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to do the following on your mobile phone whilst travelling?” “How appealing would it be to hire a car via your mobile phone DURING your travels?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds mobile car hire bookings during travelling an appealing op�on? Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to access local des�na�on content wri�en by travellers via your mobile phone DURING your travels?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds it appealing to access local des�na�on content wri�en by travellers during travelling via mobile phone? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to find local a�rac�ons using loca�on based services via your mobile phone DURING your travels?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds it appealing to find local a�rac�ons using loca�on based services via their mobile phone during travelling? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “How appealing would it be to be able to upload pictures and holiday thoughts from friends and family via your mobile phone AFTER your travels?” (Breakdown by age) Who finds it appealing to be able to upload pictures and holiday thoughts from friends and family via mobile phone a�er travelling? - Age breakdown of the consolidated ‘appealing’ responses “Would you be happy paying for content or services over your mobile phone and what payment op�ons suits you best?“ - by payment size Appeal of mobile payment op�ons for small payments (£1 - £5) - Breakdown by age Appeal of mobile payment op�ons for large payments (>100 £) - Breakdown by age “What do you consider useful about the mobile internet?” “How do you FEEL about receiving promo�onal SMS messages on your mobile?” “What would involve your absolute ideal mobile service for travelling?”

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

List of Figures

List of Figures

74 74 75 75 75 76 76 76 77 77 78 78 78 79 79 80 80 80 80 82 82 83 84 85 86

7

8

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

1 - The Travel Buying Cycleof Mobile Welcome Chapter back to Part Three of The School

Welcome back to Part Three of

The School of Mobile This report is all about building an understanding of the mobile traveller. One of the most difficult things about embracing mobile is trying to do so without really knowing who uses mobile travel services or who poten�ally will. This report aims to begin that process of understanding. This focus has been driven by the travel industry’s demand for an understanding of who the mobile user is, what drives and cons�tutes the mobile traveller and how to go about educa�ng the consumer. Becoming more familiar with the mobile user is vital for building a solid business case for mobile. So what have we learnt about the mobile travel consumer up to this point? In the first report (Mobile Technology in Travel Report: The Introduc�on) we learnt in a general sense about how consumers are using mobile devices and the astonishing growth of the mobile ecosystem whether it is in terms of mobile adop�on in general, data use, search, downloading mobile applica�ons or browsing the mobile internet. Mobile is at the point where ongoing growth suggests a similarity to many other areas of technology and almost exponen�al. In the second report (Mobile Technology in Travel Report: The Detail) we were able to tease out some great nuggets of insight about how leading travel companies view the mobile traveller (whether they are travelling for business or leisure) and some great guidelines in terms of developing usercentric mobile ini�a�ves.

Highlights on the mobile consumer that emerged in The Detail report include some real posi�ves: • It is important to think in terms of ‘scenarios’ as to how a typical customer could use their mobile as they engage with brand touch-points and move through their travel experience. • Some mobile travel consumers are willing to pay for innova�ve and appealing services on their mobile phones as the mobile culture has always operated on a paid service model in marked contrast to the free culture of the internet. Micropayments are a good way to generate revenue streams from customers using your mobile services. • It is clear that some customers want to share informa�on about their trips and they want to do so in a way that is simple and user-friendly. Customers are proving very recep�ve to the idea that travel companies act as ‘enablers’ of the en�re travel experience and have shown interest in such mobile ini�a�ves.

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

9

Technology in Travel Report Vol. 3: Consumer Insight

Some clear points of cau�on and prac�cal advice : • Effec�ve delivery of services to an individuals’ mobile device must be defined by personalisa�on and relevance. • Mobile travel consumers have high expecta�ons and are impa�ent with services that are expensive, have a poor user experience or add any nega�vity to their travel experience. • Mobile travel consumers are very sensi�ve about their personal mobile device being used for marke�ng and adver�sing, care is needed. • With respect to serving the mobile customer effec�vely, the answer is in the detail • Usability, Usability, Usability. Oh and did we men�on usability? • Your mobile customers are not just repackaged, scaled down and poorly focused versions of your online customers so don’t offer them mobile products and services that treat them as such. Once you lose a customer on mobile, given its personal nature it will prove almost impossible to get them back. Some excellent insights from our case-study contributors: • Sixt advises: When it comes to offering services to mobile customers; ‘less is more’ • Lu�hansa reminds us that your customers are mobile so as a travel company you need to be too • Lu�hansa also notes that mobile is a standalone medium and that it offers new ways to connect with your customers and that it is a different not a limited channel • Egencia notes that some�mes, travel companies say ‘we tried something on mobile but nobody used it’ - you cannot push technology only through technology and you need to shout from the hilltops to your customers that you are mobile and that they should be trying your sexy new offering... engage your customers to buy-in to mobile • Rearden Commerce and Egencia advise companies to be aware of being en�rely led by what customers say they want. Be user-centric but do not slavishly develop products and services. It is more important to an�cipate customer’s needs and how they will use their mobiles in prac�ce rather than developing a par�cular piece of func�onality based on superficial customer feedback • Some customers love to use products and services that are addic�ve and fun. Rearden Commerce has taken this to heart in delivering mobile services that recognise that corporate travellers are social beings too. • Kayak indicates that mobile can be used to re-energise rela�onships with exis�ng customers and engage with new customers • Lonely Planet has been focusing on mobile as a window into how customers are changing. They have found some consumers want to engage in rich content and social media ac�vi�es delivered via their personal mobile device. This reflects the evolving rela�onship between content, experience and social media • Lonely Planet recognise that as customers evolve they are demanding a more and more interac�ve rela�onship with brands

10

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to Part Three of The School of Mobile

• Don’t assume customers will use a service in a par�cular way. lastminute.com suggests that customers do not necessarily behave in the way you expect and it is necessary to understand the broader concept of ‘mobility’ when crea�ng mobile products and services that are customer-centric. Deliver a mobile service that is tailored to the way customers actually move through the travel experience • Egencia have learnt that a part of understanding and serving mobile travellers is in applying the concept of the ‘�me value of money.’ This is extremely important to not only corporate travellers but discerning leisure travellers as well • Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and be cri�cal. WAYN have stressed that mobile ini�a�ves should always enhance the core value proposi�on to the customer, if the added value is not clear-cut then don’t bother; go back to the drawing board • WAYN also points out that mobile consumers are social consumers, they note that the travel industry needs to think about mobile as inherently viral and that having a compelling service that users want to show their friends and acquaintances should not be underes�mated. This way, the customers can help to do a lot of the hard work for you! • Don’t treat mobile as a box �cking exercise, Visit Britain warns, your mobile customers deserve be�er and it is crucial to develop services that reflect how customers use their mobiles

In order to be successful in mobile it is necessary to match and indeed exceed customer expecta�ons. Much of the Travel School of Mobile going forward will be about working out exactly what those expecta�ons are, the values, needs and desires, and how they are formed par�cularly in light of different social and cultural contexts and taking account of demographics, traveller typologies and geographies. So with those thoughts in mind, we would like to present the third report in our Travel School of Mobile series. This report includes an analysis of top level data developed by m:metrics to provide a somewhat detailed overview of the mobile users in some of the key travel markets around the world. Plus from a survey conducted in May 2009, we take a look at a sample of UK consumers to offer a taster of user percep�ons towards mobile and offer data to quan�fy customer views and ac�vi�es towards the mobile phone and mobile travel services. Fully fleshed out mobile travel consumer profiles from around the world, the most insigh�ul consumer research the travel industry (and probably any industry) will have ever seen on mobile users, quan�ta�ve and qualita�ve in-depth analysis, plus further in-depth insight into the technologies and solu�ons available to reach and impact the mobile in travel customer will be launched in the next report at World Travel Market 2009. This report (Mobile Technology in Travel Report: Global Consumer Intelligence) will provide the next ingredient to enable travel and tourism companies to move confidently and more effec�vely into mobile. But for now, welcome to the Consumer Insight report, and we hope you find this data a very good start. So without further ado, welcome to the Consumer Insight Report.

© EyeforTravel Research. All rights reserved.

11