Expedia says nearly 70% of customers using a mobile device to book one of its travel product are looking to travel within the next 24 hours.
The online travel agency has examined the travel habits of more than 2,000 US adults to work out how they are using their mobile devices as primary methods to book air tickets, hotels, car hire and other products.
With six out of ten adults owning a smartphone or tablet device, according to its study, Expedia has issued the results of the poll to coincide with the launch of a new service where customers using a mobile will get exclusive rates on some products.
But it is what customers are doing with their various devices that will interest the wider industry, with significant differences in the type of products featuring in the spontaneous purchase of travellers.
Almost 68% of travellers booking a room night on a mobile device were doing so to stay within the next 24 hours, as opposed to just 17% for those buying air tickets.
What type of hotels are these late-bookers buying?
The study found four out of ten mobile users are booking two star properties, with 37% opting for three star, 13% on four star and a lowly 2% for five star.
And when?
Friday (16.3%) and Saturday (16.5%) are the most popular days for mobile bookings, but the other five days in the week share a reasonably equal spread, ranging from the lowest (12.9%) on Monday to highest (14.2%) on Wednesday.
What other nuggets of information has Expedia managed to glean from the study and its own analysis of internal booking trends of US customers?
- Snap-happy travellers (a massive 86%) are turning to their mobile devices to record their trips.
- 54% share their pictures on Facebook during a trip. Just 9% do so on Twitter, 6% on Instagram.
- Nine out of the ten most popular destinations for mobile bookings are in the US, with only the French capital Paris featuring outside of the country. Other cities include New York, Orlando, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco.
NB:Click mobile image via Shutterstock.