E-Commerce Has Evolved, Why Hasn’t Travel? A Call for Change

It’s surprising how little the online travel booking experience has evolved since 2005. Back then, the process of booking travel online followed a rigid path: choose a flight, pick a hotel, maybe add a car rental or activities, and pay—all in one go. Fast forward nearly two decades, and not much has changed. While other industries, like e-commerce, have drastically enhanced the flexibility, personalization, and collaboration in their user experiences, travel platforms have remained largely stuck in the past.

This lack of evolution is a missed opportunity. The modern traveler expects flexibility, the ability to collaborate with friends and family in planning, and an experience that feels more customized to their needs. For the travel industry to stay competitive, it must evolve its booking processes by offering more fluid, collaborative, and experience-centric tools—similar to how e-commerce platforms have transformed the shopping experience.

The travel industry still suffers from rigid booking paths — forcing travelers to book flights, hotels, and activities in a fixed sequence. Worse, there’s little flexibility to park items, share inspiration, or collaboratively plan a trip. Can’t save a hotel you like and discuss it with friends later? That’s a major obstacle. In contrast, industries like e-commerce have embraced flexibility and collaboration. It’s high time for the travel industry to rethink this structure and open up new ways for people to plan and experience travel together.

When Blinkit launched its ‘Shop with Family’ feature, it revolutionized online shopping by allowing users to collaborate in real-time. This boosted Average Order Value (AOV) and conversions by making the shopping process interactive and convenient. It’s time the travel industry took a similar approach.

Here are key lessons travel companies can learn from e-commerce innovations:

1. Flexible Travel Cart and Itinerary Building

The rigid, step-by-step booking path that travel platforms currently use — flight first, then hotel, then activities — should be replaced with a flexible shopping cart. This cart would allow travelers to drop in multiple elements — flights, trains, hotels, and activities — into a customizable itinerary at will. This itinerary could serve as a repository for all trip elements, allowing users to organize their travel plans without locking them into a linear booking process.

• Real-world application: Travelers could build and adjust their itinerary over time, storing options like different hotels or activities and finalizing the purchase at their convenience, without having to start over each time they modify their plans.

2. Collaborative Travel Planning

Just like Blinkit’s shared cart feature, travel companies can introduce collaborative itinerary-building tools. Imagine groups of friends or families adding flights, hotels, and activities to a shared travel plan. Each person can contribute, and the final itinerary reflects everyone’s preferences, increasing user satisfaction.

? Real-world application: A family planning a vacation could each add elements — one person books flights, another chooses a hotel, and someone else picks activities, all in one shared itinerary. This simplifies coordination and makes the process more interactive.

3. Personalized Shopping Experiences

E-commerce thrives on personalization. Platforms like Amazon and Blinkit leverage customer data to offer product recommendations that fit individual preferences. In the same way, travel platforms can use dynamic customer identification and AI to recommend hotels, destinations, or activities based on real-time preferences and previous bookings.

? Real-world application: A family member adds a beachfront hotel to the shared itinerary, and the platform immediately recommends nearby water sports activities or local restaurants based on their interests.

4. Flexible Payment Options

E-commerce platforms offer a variety of payment methods and options to split costs, making purchases easier. The travel industry could introduce shared payment systems, allowing different members of a group to pay their portion of the trip, removing financial strain from one individual and making group travel more accessible.

? Real-world application: A shared payment tool within the itinerary could allow each traveler to contribute to different aspects of the trip (e.g., one pays for the flight, another for the hotel) directly through the platform.

5. Real-time Engagement & Social Integration

Blinkit’s feature allows real-time commenting on shared carts, which makes it easy for users to discuss items before purchase. Travel platforms could introduce real-time engagement tools where family members can vote, comment, or chat about travel options within the platform. Moreover, adding social media integration can allow travelers to share their itineraries or updates during the trip, increasing engagement and fostering excitement.

? Real-world application: Friends could comment on an added activity or share the trip details on social media directly from the travel platform, driving both internal engagement and external visibility.

6. Seamless Experience Across Devices

The shift in e-commerce towards mobile-first design has been instrumental in enhancing user experience. Similarly, travel platforms need to ensure a seamless, mobile-friendly experience, allowing users to collaboratively plan their trips on the go, with easy access to bookings, recommendations, and updates.

? Real-world application: A user browsing options on their desktop can seamlessly transition to their phone, check real-time updates from travel companions, and book on the spot.

7. Enhanced Customer Loyalty Programs

E-commerce has mastered the art of keeping customers loyal through tailored recommendations and rewards systems. Travel platforms can adopt this by integrating personalized loyalty programs that reward group bookings, offer discounts for shared itineraries, and create incentives for social sharing.

? Real-world application: A family planning a trip can accumulate points for shared bookings, redeemable for exclusive experiences or discounts on future travel plans.

It’s Time for the Travel Industry to Catch Up

The travel industry has long been due for an innovation that simplifies and personalizes the planning process. By adopting proven features from the e-commerce world — collaboration, personalization, flexible payments, real-time engagement, and mobile-first design — travel companies can boost engagement, increase conversion rates, and create a smoother, more interactive customer experience.

E-commerce is already paving the way — it’s time for the travel industry to pick up the baton and revolutionize the way we plan and experience our trips.

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