Who Isn’t Buying Travel Online

Forty-seven percent of US online leisure travelers don’t buy travel online. Why?

According to a new study by Forrester Research, they don’t view technology with the same degree of enthusiasm as do Bookers, those who buy travel online.

But there are larger, more fundamental differences, too. Fewer non-Bookers use a computer at work, and a higher proportion are retirees. They also don’t travel as frequently — and they’ve accepted the industry’s messaging that buying travel online is something reserved for young, on-the-go hipsters.

Further findings in this survey of 32,680 U.S. online leisure travelers break down more specifically the differences between so-called bookers and non-bookers:

• The three largest determining factors appear to be education, income, and comfort around technology. While 52 percent of bookers are college graduates, only half as many non-bookers (26 percent) claim that distinction.
• The average household income of bookers is nearly 52 percent higher than that of non-bookers.
• Bookers are more likely to use a computer at work (77 percent vs. 52), and 71 percent use a computer to make other online purchases, as opposed to just 41 percent of non-bookers.
• Bookers take an average of 4.3 leisure trips per year, as opposed to just 2.6 trips per year for non-bookers.

Henry H. Harteveldt, vice president of Forrester’s worldwide travel industry practice and the author of the report suggestions for online marketers:

    * Make sure to sell the products non-bookers buy online. You can’t buy what isn’t sold, Audit the products that non-bookers buy. If you find that some of the products aren’t sold on your Web site, examine how you can offer them. And if you can’t sell them, facilitate the sale by employing supportive applications, such as offering the opportunity for the customer to schedule an appointment for a representative to call her at a designated day and time.

    * Invest in and communicate online customer service. Given that a critical mass of non-bookers research online but buy offline, online customer service can help to engage more Web travelers and contribute some savings. Online customer service extends beyond email to functionality, such as online check-in (common among airlines and now starting to be offered by cruise lines as well), click-to-chat (used by Starwood Hotels and Resorts), and scheduling a time for an agent to call the customer at a specific time (which Classic Custom Vacations provides). British Airways states that one in four people who use its UK Web site to check in for flights don’t buy on it.

    * Show more than just hip, young road warriors using their site. Review how you message your Web site, and strike a balance between appealing to titanium-level elite members and the rest of your customers. Consider showing an older traveler using the Web site to buy her annual trip home to see her grandchildren, all by herself, and then proudly telling her grandkids about it.

    * Accept that not every Web traveler will buy online. No matter how hard you try, how many bonus miles you toss into the ring, or how much you spend on your site’s design, a certain portion of online travelers will simply never become bookers. There is no “conversion therapy” that will change some travelers’ attitudes. Accept that, and move on.