The long-held idea of an average traveler’s path to purchase in travel is, in fact, a bit of a myth.
According to a new report by digital marketing specialist Sojern, titled "The Modern Traveler’s Path to Purchase," there are no consistent patterns of shopping at all - an analysis that contrasts sharply to the widely quoted research from Expedia that claims travelers visit 38 websites before making a booking.
Says Sojern senior vice president Stephen Taylor, the one consistency from the report - which examined eight anonymous users' booking behaviors across region, device and motivation - is the sheer complexity of the path itself.
“Something that we know for real when we work with individual clients is just how complex the path to purchase in travel – especially high-value travel – is,” he says. “There are hundreds of different ways to research, investigate and book. We’ve always known how complex it is … [it’s time] to start looking holistically at the path to purchase and what’s really going on in the travel industry.”
Through the eight studies, the report found that users ranged anywhere from 63 to 735 touch points throughout the booking process, and behaviors varied across brands, verticals and destinations.
It's time to start looking holistically at the path to purchase and what’s really going on in the travel industry.
Stephen Taylor
Taylor notes that “average” in this research context doesn’t really mean much to a marketer, and the idea of Sojern’s data-backed report was not to represent real pathways to purchase, but rather the diversity of users’ touch points.
“If I’m a marketer of a travel company or hotel group, what does this mean for me? If you’re busy putting people into segments [and only selectively targeting them], you’re probably missing massive parts of what you could be saying to those people.”
The main takeaways for marketers from the report, in addition to the vast range of touch points uncovered, include the rise of mobile booking, how highly individualized purchasing behavior can be and the importance of direct booking to build brand loyalty.
And while these findings are certainly applicable to marketers, as consumers continue to expect more and more personalization, is the idea of an average traveler totally debunked? And was there ever an average traveler to begin with?
According to Taylor: “As human beings, our behaviors have always been more complex than marketers have given us credit for. We change our minds. We have intentions and end up doing something entirely different. It’s always been important to get the most accurate, specific, personal data. … I’d argue there’s never been an average [traveler]. There’s a statistical average, but it’s not a particularly helpful concept when looking at a marketing strategy.”
So what does that mean for future paths to purchase as the ways in which consumers book continue to diversify?
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“Broadly keeping true for a long time to come is the nature of the complexity, but I don’t see anything happening in the marketplace,” Taylor says, noting that, for example, as online travel agencies consolidate, something new – like Airbnb or home-sharing – proliferates. “New services [such as AI bots] and the way people compete for people’s attention will grow.”