Over half (52%) of UK holidaymakers do not consistently book with the same providers according to new research from brand technology agency Great State.
In total over 1000 UK consumers were surveyed, exploring their attitudes and behaviours in relation to leisure travel and travel brands. The research was commissioned to discover how the UK’s holidaymakers book holidays, their habits and what this means for travel brands in a competitive marketplace.
Attitudes vary greatly according to geography. Consumers in Wales appear to be the most fickle with over two thirds (66%) saying they never book with the same provider. Meanwhile, those consumers in the North East were found to be the most loyal, as 25% said they always book with the same providers.
This lack of loyalty is most evident among those in higher income brackets, with almost three-quarters of those earning over £65,000 saying they never book with the same provider consistently. When it comes to age, consumers aged 55+ are least trusting of any one provider to provide an end-to-end experience, with 15% saying they wouldn’t trust any provider compared to a 9% average.
A strong correlation was found between brands trusted to deliver end-to-end experiences and those who have achieved the most customer loyalty. The most trusted brands were listed as Thomas Cook, TUI, Booking.com and Expedia; the exact same four brands that also came out as commanding the most loyalty among customers.
Compounding the trust and loyalty issue are traveller frustrations. The top three cited by respondents are delays and cancellations, queues and congestion, and unexpected or hidden extra costs (53%, 36% and 35% respectively).
Matt Boffey, co-founder and director of consulting at Great State said: “It’s clear from our research that holidaymakers are more demanding than ever. And given how many things still go wrong when people are travelling - like delays, lost baggage and missed connections - that means it’s all too easy to disappoint consumers and lose them to an ever-expanding set of rivals. In this context, brands’ first priority must be to develop a great end-to-end customer experience, where common pain points are anticipated, and potential disappointment is transformed into delight. It’s the only path to winning a greater share of consumer attention, data and spend."
The full survey can be found here.