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Directional selling soars in tough market
Directional selling among major tour operators has intensified this summer because package holiday sales have been so poor.
Thomson, which has already pledged to push more sales in house, First Choice, MyTravel and, to a lesser extent, Thomas Cook, are all thought to have re-iterated to staff the importance of selling their own products, where appropriate.
A combination of hot weather, the World Cup, overcapacity and terror alerts have led to the worst booking market in 15 years and operators still have hundreds of thousands of holidays left to sell.
One travel industry analyst said: “Directional selling always increases in a difficult time because companies have to mitigate some of their exposure when they have so many holidays left to sell.
“Also, it is far more acceptable than it was five years ago. Everyone knows that the shops are there primarily to sell their operator’s stock and their websites are also driving people to book direct.”
Thomson, which several months ago cut commission to independent retailers and pledged to focus on in-house sales, said 80 per cent of its shops’ sales were now for Thomson’s products, compared with 60 per cent a year ago.
“We have clearly stated our policy and followed that through,” said a spokesman.
In-house sales through MyTravel shops have also increased, according to industry sources, although the company declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for First Choice said: “We’ve actually increased our number of shops and franchises and are opening pods in Asda and Sainsbury’s. About 66 per cent of sales are for our products, compared to 60 per cent a year ago and around 31 per cent of our bookings are going through our websites. These trends will increase.”
Thomas Cook is in a slightly different position to other vertically integrated companies because it promotes itself as a genuine retailer of other companies’ holidays. During the lates market, its in-house sales are thought to have risen to around 60 per cent. It declined to comment.
Report by Jeremy Skidmore (www.jeremyskidmore.com)
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