Booking holiday packages online is fast becoming the norm around the world, but the way people choose to pay for their trip varies greatly. What are these differences? And what influences them? Is it culture, age, frequency of travel or habit? And why is this important for travel companies?
NB This is a viewpoint by Thomas Heldorff, VP travel and airlines, global eCommerce at Worldpay.
Personalisation is proving to be increasingly important when it comes to optimising the customer experience. Often the key moment at which a customer ‘pays’ for their trip is forgotten, and this is arguably the point at which they convert.
Worldpay has surveyed 12,000 people who booked a holiday package or flight online in six countries - India, China, Brazil, USA, Germany and Australia. Make sure you consider the following points when personalising the payment mix to your target market.
Where in the world are they?
Offering your customers’ familiar payment type is vital – and understanding their actual preferences even more so. Across the six countries we surveyed, attitudes to payments varied greatly showing that location and culture influences payment choice.
Unsurprisingly in the US, credit cards dominate as the preferred payment method with 76% of people selecting them. The picture is quite different in Germany however - credit cards are still the most popular payment method for travel bookings but other options have traction in a fragmented market – 34% of people are choosing credit cards but 23% select PayPal with 21% saying invoices would be their preference.
Tip: Don’t offer the same payment methods across all your target countries – be selective and work with a partner that understands your customers.
Which age groups are you targeting?
Different age groups have different payment preferences. Our research has shown that 18-25 year olds aren’t as reliant on credit cards as previous generations. In fact, we’ve seen that this age group actually prefer alternative payment methods (APMs) to cards for travel bookings especially in countries such as China and Germany.
[caption id="attachment_160095" align="aligncenter" width="550"]
Card vs APMs for 18-25 yr olds[/caption]
Tip: Be aware of how payment preference trends vary amongst different age groups.
Are you offering what they need?
Holidays paid for with instalments may sound like a thing of the past to those in the UK, but this isn’t the case around the world.
Interestingly, in the United States, our respondents were keen to pay for holiday packages with instalments but were split when it came to flights! In other countries we saw an overwhelmingly positive response to instalment-based payments for travel bookings.
[caption id="attachment_160096" align="aligncenter" width="550"]
US travellers' installment preferences[/caption]
Tip: Work with a payment provider that offers payment types to suit this new wave of instalment-hungry travellers.
What is important to your customers?
We asked people why they chose certain payment types to pay for their online holiday packages. Travellers in some countries said familiarity was key while others placed importance on simplicity and security – these are important drivers to optimising the experience you offer. For example, those in the United States place importance on discounts and reward schemes, so ensuring you accept credit cards which let them use these benefits is very important.
Tip: Tailor your payment mix – consider the age of your target market, cultural habits and payment needs to make sure you don’t lose out bookings.
Further in-depth insights from Worldpay’s research will be discussed in a free Tnooz-Worldpay webinar,"Why do they pay that way for vacations".
The free webinar takes place on Thursday 29 September.
Click here to register.
NB This is a viewpoint by Thomas Heldorff, VP travel and airlines, global eCommerce at Worldpay. It appears here as part of Tnooz's sponsored content initiative.