Mobile travel bookings jump, especially for online agencies

Travelers are increasingly turning to their phones – and away from desktops and tablets – to book trips and experiences.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, online travel agencies gained 39% of their bookings on smartphones – a 61% surge compared to the same period in 2016.

Criteo, an online advertising company, crunched numbers from more than 1,800 travel advertisers in 59 countries to produce its Winter 2018 Travel Flash Report. The data comes from more than three billion bookings across desktop, mobile sites and apps.

The study found that branded apps may hold the key to driving online travel buying.

Companies with an app gained 60% of their bookings on mobile devices in the fourth quarter of 2017 – up from just 41% the year prior.

Branded apps also drive higher conversion rates than engagement on mobile websites or desktops – even higher than rates for retailers – and the difference is growing.

According to Criteo, agencies and suppliers saw a 23% conversion rate for travelers that accessed their apps compared to just 11% on desktop and 4% on mobile websites.

And apps are the only one of the three channels that saw an increase in conversion rate compared to 2016.

For comparison, Criteo says retailers worldwide track a 17% conversion rate for their apps.

Mobile solutions are particularly effective for brands looking to court people who travel on impulse.

For those booking within 24 hours of check-in or departure, 89% of their trips are booked on mobile devices, split almost evenly between mobile websites and apps.

But mobile adoption is far from uniform across the globe.

In the Middle East, half of all booking take place on smartphones, and across Asia that number is between 41 and 44%.

At that bottom of the list: North America, where only 22% take place on mobile.