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Study: “Right Price” Triggers 72 Percent Of Mobile Travel Buying

Mobile travel behavior and usage are getting a lot of attention lately. Both Nielsen and comScore released mobile-travel data in the past week. In addition, Millennial Media recently published data showing that the travel category has moved from ninth to third position in terms of mobile ad spending in the past year. Now, in a […]

Greg Sterling on September 5, 2012 at 9:41 am | Reading time: 3 minutes

Mobile travel behavior and usage are getting a lot of attention lately. Both Nielsen and comScore released mobile-travel data in the past week. In addition, Millennial Media recently published data showing that the travel category has moved from ninth to third position in terms of mobile ad spending in the past year.

Now, in a follow up to an initial release of their “Mobile Path to Purchase” study in August, call-tracking provider Telmetrics and mobile ad network xAd offer a new travel-specific tranche of data, which was collected earlier this year by Nielsen (n=1,500 tablet and smartphone users).

High Conversion Rates

The study found extremely high mobile-travel conversion rates — with 43 percent of smartphone and 48 percent of tablet users ultimately making a travel purchase on those devices. Price comparison research was the most common activity among these users.

Of those making a mobile-travel purchase 72 percent did so within a month. Presumably multiple sessions were involved. However 33 percent of this group did so within a day and 19 percent booked within an hour.

Among those converting the three primary transaction drivers were “right price,” “brand choice” and “good reviews.” However price was the biggest trigger: 72 percent of survey respondents said they booked because of the price.

Most Users Open to Ads, Influence

While brand was a significant factor in mobile usage — 42 percent of smartphone and 46 percent of tablet users engaged with apps or sites that were familiar — only 25 percent of mobile travel users had a specific brand in mind regarding their potential travel purchases. In other words, the study found that roughly 75 percent of mobile users were open to influence when it came to a purchase decision.

This population of generally younger users (under 35 with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000) was also very open to relevant mobile advertising.

The study found that 57 percent of smartphone and 52 percent of tablet users clicked on a mobile ad because it was relevant or targeted. The Telmetrics-xAd study also found that 75 percent of smartphone users and 63 percent of tablet users noticed ads in the travel category.

Findings Argue More Money Should Be Dedicated To Mobile

These findings either directly contradict or fly in the face of just-released, eyebrow-raising data from Trademob that argues 40 percent of mobile ad clicks are accidental or fraudulent.

Recently the Mobile Marketing Association recommended that 7 percent of ad budgets be devoted to mobile. In light of the findings above, including the mobile ad awareness and conversion data, that recommendation would appear to be woefully inadequate.

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