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Travelport Releases First Annual 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report

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International research highlights how overwhelmed customers feel when booking travel due to newfound proliferation of offers

58% of travelers feel overwhelmed by too many choices 56% of travelers say airline offers are more difficult to understand now than they were 10 years ago 71% of travelers feel anxious about whether they got the best deal after they’ve booked their trip 88% of travelers would prefer to see all flight options and fares on one screen

LANGLEY, United Kingdom, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Travelport, a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, today released its 2024 State of Modern Retailing Report. Combining international independent research, cross-industry comparisons and consumer insights, the headline of 2024’s report asserts that searching and booking travel directly from travel providers has become more time-consuming and complicated than ever.

“Despite travel providers favoring direct-to-consumer connections, the sheer volume of options is overwhelming to travelers, making them less confident in their booking choices,” said Jen Catto, Chief Marketing Officer at Travelport. “Our research found that instead of feeling excited after booking a trip, most travelers are left feeling anxious, wondering if they got the best deal. For the travel industry, this signals a growing need and opportunity for travel agencies. Their expertise in comparison shopping aids travelers in confidently booking the best option, based on their personal preferences.”

KEY STUDY HIGHLIGHTS:

More Choice Leaves Travelers Feeling Overwhelmed

Travelport estimates that air travel options have gone from about 500 economy/ business options available in 2010 to over 10,000 options in 2024 (economy, economy plus, flexi- family, business, first, etc.). That’s a 1,900% increase.The majority of travelers (58%) feel that the volume of choice is overwhelming.56% of travelers say that airline offers are more difficult to understand now than they were 10 years ago.61% of travelers also believe there are more penalties now when changing a flight than there were 10 years ago, with 66% citing that there are too many hidden fees.The majority of travelers (71%) sometimes feel anxious about whether they got the best deal after they’ve booked their trip, with 42% feeling like airline offers have become ‘less suitable’ over time in meeting their personal preferences.

DTC (Direct to Consumer) Feels More Like Difficult to Compare

Most travelers (80%) agree that comparing fares from different airlines is very time-consuming, with more than two-thirds (69%) feeling that information is often restricted on some airline booking sites.When it comes to shopping for all components of their trip, 60% said they spend an average of one to four hours planning, while more than one-third (36%) spend more than five hours searching and comparing options before booking.Most respondents (88%) agree they would prefer to see all flight options and fares on one screen, which is likely the reason that more than half (54%) said they frequently use a comparison site to search for information before purchasing their ticket.The majority of Millennial (70%) and Gen X (64%) travelers often use online travel agencies (OTAs) to book, citing choice and price transparency as the primary reasons.Travelers are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to provide more than just a chatbot, and agencies will increasingly rely on their technology partners to implement AI and ML (machine learning) in creative ways, such as Travelport’s Content Curation Layer.

Amenities That Matter Most

When booking flights, respondents said that luggage allowance (63%), cancellation and change policies (50%) and seat selection (50%) are the most important factors to compare.Most travelers (63%) also stated that they feel airlines do not put the customer first when it comes to customer servicing matters (flight cancellations, exchanges, etc.)The hotel features that were cited as most important to travelers were WiFi availability (48%), complimentary breakfast options (47%), and hotel facilities (45%).

International Insights

Dynamic pricing and offers among US-based airlines could be complicating the retailing experience for American travelers, as more US respondents (49%) feel shopping for flights takes more time than comparing hotels (40%), car rentals (8%) and restaurants (3%).Additionally, more US travelers (47%) feel like airline offers are not customized to their needs, compared to travelers from Germany (34%), South Africa (35%) and the U.K. (45%).Unlike American respondents, hotel shopping is the more time-consuming experience for travelers from Germany (52%), South Africa (54%) and the UK (59%).

“Travel providers are continually refining and expanding their offerings to fit their customers unique needs and preferences,” Catto added. “Prioritizing partnerships with agencies will ensure a truly personalized service to their travelers. That will make the shopping experience seamless for all.”

For more information and to read the 2024 State of Modern Retailing report, please visit Travelport.com/difficult-to-compare.

Notes for Editors

The survey was conducted by Travelport using the Toluna Research platform.The research sample consisted of 1,659 consumers from Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States that have taken at least one or more flights for business or leisure within the last 12 months.

About Travelport
Travelport is a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide. Buyers and sellers of travel are connected by the company’s next generation marketplace, Travelport+, which simplifies how brands connect, upgrades how travel is sold, and enables modern digital retailing. Headquartered in the United Kingdom and operating in more than 165 countries around the world, Travelport is focused on driving innovation that simplifies the complex travel ecosystem.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/travelport-releases-first-annual-2024-state-of-modern-retailing-report-302201339.html

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Gubagoo and Fullpath Unveil Curator, the First Unified Intelligence Engine for Automotive Retailers

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Curator brings together every type of data across a dealership and normalizes, cleanses, and deduplicates it, creating a single unique view of every customer.

HOUSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Gubagoo, the leading provider of digital retailing and conversational commerce for automotive dealerships, announced today Curator, the first Unified Intelligence Engine for automotive retailers.

Powered by Fullpath, the automotive industry’s leading customer data platform (CDP) and marketing automation platform, Gubagoo’s Curator has unified all three types of data – transactional, demographic, and behavioral – and made it actionable. Curator collects and unifies first-party data from multiple sources to build a single, complete view of each customer. Dealerships can then use this data for powerful customer and user activation – giving consumers the 1:1 personalization they expect in today’s environment.

While dealerships sit on a wealth of data, one of the biggest challenges they face is leveraging their strong datasets to impact their business strategy and improve the client experience. The root cause is data siloed in disparate applications, spread across multiple or duplicate customer records, sources, reporting tools, and vendors.

Through the partnership, Fullpath provides accurate first-party behavioral data fueled by its powerful analytics engine, identity resolution, and website traffic attribution.

Gubagoo and its parent company, Reynolds and Reynolds, bring a view from inside the dealership with transactional and demographic information, leveraging the richest first-party data in the industry from within the DMS and CRM, as well as customer activity from chat and digital retailing activities.

Combining all of this data into a Unified Intelligence Engine creates a holistic view of the dealership’s customers, unlike any other.

“We knew with Gubagoo and Reynolds we would build something historic for the industry by giving dealers the power to understand and activate their data through a truly connected data infrastructure. And now that we’ve seen the power of Curator, we know that dealers have unparalleled views of their customers they can take action on,” says Aharon Horwitz, Fullpath CEO & Co-founder.

By connecting the DMS, CRM, F&I, Chat, Digital Retailing tools, and more, Curator provides:

Business insightsDecisioning toolsMulti-touch attribution metricsData segmentation across sales and serviceCampaign management and audience best practices for marketing purposesSales enablement

Furthermore, Curator measures effectiveness by department, ad campaigns, as well as customer retention and reactivation; all while managing data hygiene, enrichment, appends, and ID resolutions.

“Dealers have a huge opportunity in front of them, and we couldn’t be more excited to help them take advantage of it with a Unified Intelligence Engine,” said Brad Title, president of Gubagoo. “They have struggled for years with segmented data in disparate tools, and now with Curator, they can leverage all their information in a single place to dramatically increase efficiencies and truly wow customers.”

The groundbreaking Unified Intelligence Engine will launch at NADA 2025.

About Fullpath
Fullpath is the automotive industry’s first enhanced Customer Data Platform (CDP). Fullpath unifies first-party dealership data and activates it by layering powerful AI and marketing automation on top to create a Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP). Dealerships that invest in the platform create exceptional, hyper-personalized customer experiences that drive loyalty and build resilient, lasting business.

About Gubagoo
Gubagoo is the leading provider of conversational commerce and retail solutions for both automotive dealerships and OEMs. More than 8,500 dealerships worldwide partner with Gubagoo, including 90% of the top dealer groups in North America. The company is a subsidiary of Reynolds and Reynolds, with offices in Dayton, Ohio, Houston, Texas, and operates in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia. (Gubagoo.com)

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gubagoo-and-fullpath-unveil-curator-the-first-unified-intelligence-engine-for-automotive-retailers-302307665.html

SOURCE Fullpath

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O’Fallon (MO) Police Department Revolutionizes Public Safety with Cutting-Edge Technology with Caliber Public Safety

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O’Fallon (MO) Police Department is enhancing public safety by adopting Caliber’s public safety software suite, positioning itself as a leader in modern public safety technology.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — O’Fallon, MO – The O’Fallon Police Department is proud to announce its partnership with Caliber Public Safety, integrating state-of-the-art Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Records Management System (RMS), and Mobile solutions to enhance public safety and law enforcement operations.

“We’re honored to partner with the O’Fallon Police Department in their innovative approach to public safety, empowering their mission to boost efficiency and protect their community,” said Chris Faircloth, VP of Sales and Marketing for Caliber Public Safety.

This significant upgrade reinforces the department’s commitment to modernizing public safety, ensuring the protection and well-being of O’Fallon’s 94,000+ residents. The integration of Caliber’s innovative technologies optimizes dispatch and response operations, facilitating faster reaction times and more effective data management.

“We are excited to leverage these cutting-edge tools to serve our community more efficiently and effectively,” said Chief Frank Mininni. “This technological leap ensures our teams can react faster and manage critical data more effectively, creating a more secure environment for everyone.”

Key benefits of the upgrade include:

Enhanced efficiency through seamless integration of CAD, Mobile, and RMS technologiesImproved data sharing capabilities, connecting local, regional, state, and national agenciesIncreased situational awareness for first responders through real-time access to critical information

The O’Fallon Police Department’s investment in Caliber Public Safety’s solutions was made possible by the “Use Tax” approved by voters in 2019. This tax enables the department to stay current with evolving technology, ensuring transparency and effective use of taxpayer money.

“We are honored to partner with the O’Fallon Police Department in their forward-thinking approach to public safety,” said Chris Faircloth, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Caliber Public Safety. “Together, we are empowering their mission to enhance operational efficiency and safeguard the people they serve.”

About the O’Fallon Police Department:

The O’Fallon Police Department serves over 94,000 residents with a team of 100+ sworn officers, consistently ranking among America’s “Best Places to Live” and “Safest Cities.”

About Caliber Public Safety:

Caliber Public Safety provides innovative solutions to over 1,000 public safety agencies across North America, focusing on data-sharing and interoperability.

Media Contact

Chris Faircloth, Caliber Public Safety, 1-800-274-2911, info@caliberpublicsafety.com, https://caliberpublicsafety.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/ofallon-mo-police-department-revolutionizes-public-safety-with-cutting-edge-technology-with-caliber-public-safety-302307052.html

SOURCE Caliber Public Safety; Caliber Public Safety

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GAC Group Showcases New Energy Vehicles and Unveils “Panyu Action” at the 22nd Guangzhou International Auto Show

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GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On November 15, at the 22nd Guangzhou International Auto Show, GAC’s self-owned brands unveiled three groundbreaking models. Alongside these vehicle debuts, GAC Group introduced its three-year strategic initiative – “Panyu Action” – which aims to increase the share of self-owned brands to over 60% of total group sales by 2027, targeting 2 million units in sales.

Designed to drive GAC Group’s transformation, “Panyu Action” is expected to enhance operational efficiency and position the company for sustained high-quality development. This strategic initiative is expected to help GAC strengthen its leadership within both domestic and international automotive markets.

Feng Xingya, President of GAC Group, stated, “GAC Group has taken a solid step forward in its new phase of transformation. We will forge ahead with determination and live up to expectations, presenting an all-new GAC to everyone over the next three years!”

In line with its vision, GAC Group has invested over 50 billion yuan in independent research and development. The company plans to invest an additional 50 billion yuan in the next three years to support its “Panyu Action” initiative, reinforcing its commitment to remain at the forefront of technological innovation in the automotive industry.

“Right now, GAC’s global expansion is entering a new phase, with vehicle exports and local production moving forward together,” said Wei Haigang, President of GAC International. ” We will continue to expand international markets, with plans to reach 100 countries and regions by 2027, and export 500,000 vehicles.”

As part of its growth strategy, GAC Group unveiled three standout models at this year’s auto show: the S7, GAC’s first advanced intelligent vehicle, featuring AI-driven ambient lighting with eight preset expressions for personalized interaction; the Aion UT, the third global strategic model from Aion, with bold headlights and a hatchback design that embodies a unique, free-spirited style; and the HYPTEC HL, GAC’s luxury intelligent flagship SUV, which combines yacht-style wraparound design with zero-gravity seats for an unmatched luxury electric driving experience.

These new models highlight GAC Group’s dedication to leading the smart electric vehicle market, with plans for their introduction to international markets as part of the company’s ongoing global expansion strategy.

Looking ahead, GAC Group remains committed to delivering better products, services, and experiences to consumers worldwide, enhancing mobility solutions and enriching the lives of customers across the globe.

SOURCE GAC

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