A big red pause button was pushed for travel and travel-related services for almost two years during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite these roadblocks, the travel industry is alive and kicking.?
The years of the pandemic locked everyone in their homes and changed customer behavior irreversibly. Digital transformation has given the sector a considerable boost, driven by its digital component.?
What is essential today? What to include when rethinking travel e-commerce strategy? How to spice up daily digital communication? If you have any questions, continue reading and digging deeper into today's five most influential travel industry e-commerce trends.
#1 Create a dream. Sell a dream.
Traveling is about making your dreams come true, escaping the routine, and experiencing something incredibly new and exciting. Dreaming about the next vacation destination may start from content posted on social media, as 40% of those under 30 consider "Instragammability" one of the crucial factors in choosing a trip. Embrace visually appealing content to sell the experience.
- ?A video is a powerful tool to showcase the travel business in full glory. Include video in the content you create to reveal the entire experience. If you think this format requires enormous investment, do not be deceived – authentic, believable, and the actual content is what the social media generation is looking for.
- ?Try new channels to reach more people. As video is the queen Bee for travel industry marketers, explore channels like Tik Tok to showcase experiences, destinations, and emotions. Follow the trends, use hashtags and reach the audience you cannot get on other media.
- Virtual tours and 360 experience?help to make decisions. Virtual tours enable potential travelers to explore locations before making the trek there. Virtual tours give potential bookers a glimpse of vacation destinations. Users must ensure they get what they want when having multiple options.
#2 Build trust through unique storytelling
When planning a trip, a million things can go wrong; your potential customers want to avoid unpleasant surprises at any possible cost. Provide content that grows trust, proves that the experience will be great, supports your business purpose, and brings the soul to daily operations.
- Do not underestimate blogging. Travel blogging must be as old as traveling itself; undoubtedly, it is still relevant. A blog is a perfect opportunity to speak directly with an audience, establish yourself as an expert and lead more visitors to the website. Also, it is a great way to boost your SEO.
- Travelers are very into sharing their experiences?so user-generated content can?add an authentic spark to your digital communication. In the post-pandemic environment, people are craving human connection. Customers want to feel that people like them trust your business before committing to it themselves, so incentivize travelers to share their experiences, involve your employees, share user-generated content to encourage others, and convert customers into brand advocates.
- Developing strategic partnerships with?micro-influencers?can help forge a connection with your audience. They can deliver great engagement into the content they create and improve conversions for a specific audience.
#3?Taking care of the online experience
Your customers are digitally savvy and are used to a seamless digital experience throughout the user journey. Provide potential customers with assistance and personal touch to turn them into loyal customers.
- AI chatbots?can reduce the time it takes for guests to get to a booking form or desired web page by providing quick, pre-set answers online. Think of the questions you might receive from prospective customers — such as are you available? How much does it cost? Or what's your cancellation policy? Remember – your ultimate goal is to enhance the customer's experience.
- Personalized offers.?Many travelers have apparent preferences and habits you can use in your favor. Gather your customers' purchasing data and use it to create valuable personalized content, newsletters, automated messages, and notifications based on their behavior and relevant needs.
Remember - the customer journey continues after the purchase is made.
- Remember - the customer journey continues after the purchase is made. Work hard (or better wise) to increase?the loyalty of your customers.?Ask your customers for feedback. Send messages or emails with special offers tailored to their preferences, and wish them a happy birthday - let them know they are unique to you.
?#4?Clear and straightforward – that's the way your website should be
Nothing is worse than complicated and over-designed websites, especially when the competition is extremely tough and customers are demanding. Your new mantra is to keep it simple.
- Streamline your website's?navigation, so users with clear intent can easily find destinations, tours, or accommodations they are looking for. Less complexity means less frustration for potential customers and a higher possibility of conversion.
- ?Powerful copy and visuals?help to create a vision of a fantastic traveling experience. As travelers are usually impacted by the visuality of the destination, invest in inspiring storytelling and high-quality photos to tell the story instead of describing the features.?
- To remain competitive, implement a?holistic e-commerce experience. Travelers have many different needs, so offer them tours to their selected destinations, interactive maps with restaurants and museums, and an opportunity to book a table or buy a ticket. Become a hub to organize a whole traveling experience.
#5?Mobile, mobile, mobile
?67% of travel and travel-related services buyers look for information, read reviews, and book flights from their mobile phones. Do you need better evidence that you must take the mobile experience seriously?
- Suppose you sell various travel services, starting with commuting and accommodation and finishing with tours and experiences. In that case, it is time to build your?mobile app?to empower your customers to book and manage trips, leave reviews, and ask questions in one place.
25% of travel booking happens on mobile devices.
- ?If you are still deciding whether to invest in a mobile app, take care of your website's?mobile experience. 25% of travel booking happens on mobile devices, so make sure that navigation, search, and check-out work perfectly regardless of your potential customers' device.
The global digital competition profoundly impacts the growth of the travel industry, so to stand out in the competitive field requires adopting a digital mindset and way of working. What does it look like in real life? Please look at the case of one of our clients, Arctic Adventures: https://evolvery.com/winning-more-by-doing-more/.
