Mobile purchasing and OTA sales spike, as Aussies look for easy deals online, a new report reveals.

Performance marketing technology company Criteo, has unveiled the findings from its first ever Australian Digital Traveler Report, conducted by Euromonitor International.

Unveiling findings in Sydney last week, Pressy Sankaran Commercial Director, Criteo Australia & New Zealand highlighted that due to high internet penetration in Australia, consumers have increasingly preferred to book their travel online.

“The online travel industry has seen the trend of travel providers such as airlines acquiring OTAs to gain more presence in the online space,” the new report states.

In addition, search for travel prices and products in the past 12 months was dominated in the online space, with accessibility listed as the top reason for preferences on browsing for travel products online, ranked by all age groups, while only 16% used offline channels such as calling or visiting a travel agent, airline or hotel.

“Make browsing and booking as easy as possible,” Sankaran suggests to suppliers. “Personalisation in your marketing strategy is also important”.

In addition, the report found most prefer and are used to booking directly on providers’ websites, with just 10% called or visited travel agencies.

It found 75% made direct bookings on websites or apps of the airline and/or hotel/lodging company, while 39% made direct bookings via online travel agencies (e.g. Agoda) and 21% made bookings when redirected via online travel price comparators (e.g. Skyscanner).

The impact of mobile penetration on the travel industry was also uncovered, with online travel sales forecasted to grow even further in the coming years. Nearly half (42 percent) of millennials prefer to use smartphones for online browsing of travel products or services. In 2016, mobile travel sales accounted for 25 percent of all online travel sales.

Sankaran added that millennials primarily browse for travel packages and in-destination activities on their phones, highlighting the importance for travel businesses to utilise the mobile platform in a growing market.

Some 61% of Australians were also keen to book leisure and personal trips 1-2 months or earlier before departure, with 54% most often making online bookings for travel products/services on weekdays.

Meanwhile, the report shows domestic travel increased by a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 6 percent between 2011-16,  compared to international travel which increased by a CAGR of just 3.8 percent.

The number of trips made by locals continues to grow, with outbound and domestic trips expected to strengthen by a CAGR of 4.8 percent and 7.2 percent respectively from 2017 to 2020.

“The Australian travel industry has seen significant growth in the last decade, so it’s no surprise domestic travel is the preferred way to getaway,” Sankaran said.

“The rise of online travel tools, affordable hotels, and accommodation sharing sites like Airbnb, has made local travel more affordable and easier to manage. Couple this with a falling Australian dollar and good weather, all of a sudden our local tourist attractions become even more desirable.”

Other key findings from the research: 

Convenience wins over price

Australian travellers seek convenience when it comes to booking, both on mobile and online. Nearly 9 out of 10 (87 percent) respondents said that convenience was their biggest deciding factor of how, when and why they booked their trip, compared to the 66 percent of people that cited price as the driving force behind their purchases. The convenience factors include ease of online shopping, speed, and the ability to compare prices across providers.

Mobile is the fastest growing platform for browsing and purchases

According to the research, laptop and smartphone are equal when it comes to travel browsing, with each making up 34 percent of all travel related searches. However, this trend is set to change with mobile travel sales growing by a CAGR of 52 percent between 2011 and 2016, significantly outpacing that of overall online travel sales including sales from desktop and laptop, which grew by a CAGR of 11 percent in the same period.

Criteo’s recent Digital Commerce & Marketing Outlook Report  has also shown that people are increasingly willing to make large item and expensive purchases from their smartphones; today’s research shows that travel purchases are included in this category, with 55 percent of respondents willing to spend more than $800 when booking a single travel product or service via their smartphone.

Leisure is king, but only for a few nights

A significant 80 percent of travellers took five or fewer trips in the last year; 35 percent of these trips last one to two nights, 28 percent seven or more nights, and 26 percent three to six nights. Only 11 percent of trips were one nighters. Of these, 66 percent were for leisure and personal travel, while remaining 34 percent covered business and other.

Travel website reviews sway consumers

According to the report, 51 percent of Australian digital travelers are most influenced to visit a location by the attractions of their preferred destinations, travel website reviews and word of mouth. This is consistent across age groups, with previous experience being the next largest factor (49 percent), followed by specific dates and occasions (43 percent).

For the complete Australian Digital Traveler report click here.