Micro Moments in Travel

Instead of spending a large chunk of time at a desk or computer searching through various websites, we now tend to use the internet for short periods of time to quickly find out the information we need when we want it. These short bursts of internet search are called micro moments.

In Travel Weekly Lee Hayhurst and Jennifer Morris wrote an article on the importance of travel agencies working in harmony with their websites. ‘Stores and websites must work in perfect harmony’ Page 10 in print, 05/05/2016 - travelweekly.co.uk

Hurst and Morris reference chief financial officer Steve Jenkins quoting “customers do a huge amount of research online”.

This is true, but what is even more notable is that the way in which customer’s research online prior to booking has not only risen but the way in which they do so has changed drastically.

Today, a typical journey of booking a holiday would be done in four key phrases:

Dreaming

Planning

Booking

Experiencing

Once you have passed the dreaming phase you begin to plan/research. Before wireless internet connection and devices such as tablets and smartphones, you would probably research and plan your trip in one or two large chunks of time whilst remaining at your computer.

Now, however, we are able (and far more likely) to see a picture of a place on social media, or hear about somewhere during a micro moment. If you are dreaming of a holiday you are likely to quickly research this new discovery, scroll through images and end up on a referral website such as Trip Advisor.

This can happen anywhere! I’m sure many of us can relate to this type of scenario occurring when waiting for someone or in a spare moment of mindless scrolling.

Customers do a huge amount of research online, they know where they want to go and what they expect from the holiday before they come face to face with the travel agent. This has changed the role of a travel agent from supplying information and choice of several destinations to ensuring the customers’ expectations are met.

Jenkins also stated that he wanted “to get to the place where they can come in the store and complete that booking” Hurst and Morris reference STA travel’s view that it is the “Holy Grail for travel agencies that operate high street stores to make them work in perfect harmony with their websites.”

We agree completely with STA, you can’t ignore the shift in behavior when booking holidays, a report by ABTA suggests that there has been a huge surge in people not only researching online but booking online, including tablets and even smart phones.

If your customers micro moments are to turn into online purchases it’s paramount the website is accessible, reliable and high up the google rankings for popular keywords.

If you would like further information, feel free to contact one of our account managers on 0203 475 6799 or email info@polarisagency.co.uk