Mobile travel planning is one of the fastest growing sectors in e-commerce. Travel search engine KAYAK.com.hk has analysed its data to compare how

Transcription

1 Mobile travel planning is one of the fastest growing sectors in e-commerce. Travel search engine KAYAK.com.hk has analysed its data to compare how Hong Kong travellers behave when searching on KAYAK s apps for iphone and Android, versus desktop users on KAYAK.com.hk. Through this analysis, KAYAK s data experts reveal the latest travel search trends for Hong Kong mobile users.

2 Table of contents Travel Trends: what Hong Kongers are searching for online Favourite destinations are similar across all platforms Most popular mobile platforms: Hong Kongers prefer searching for travel via the app Cabin classes: Hong Kong iphone users are more likely to fly business class than users on other platforms Hotel star ratings: searching for mid-range to high-end hotels is the norm Purchasing Power: how much Hong Kongers are willing to spend on travel Spending on popular destinations: Hong Kong desktop users are the least price sensitive Spending on expensive destinations: Hong Kongers prefer desktop to mobile when searching and booking expensive flights Spending on 4 and 5 star hotels: Hong Kong desktop users search for luxury hotels more than users on other platforms Time: how much time Hong Kongers dedicate to searching and booking travel Flights: Hong Kong desktop users take the most time searching for flights Hotels: Hong Kong Android users take the most time searching for hotels Top weekdays to search: Hong Kongers search for travel on their desktop at work, then switch to mobile on Sundays Top time of the day to search: the busiest time for travel searches differs between mobile and desktop When Hong Kongers book: Hong Kongers on desktop book less in advance than mobile users Average length of trip: Hong Kong travellers search for long trips on desktop Mobile Travel Personas iphone Android Desktop Mobile Travel Facts & Hacks

3 Travel Trends What Hong Kongers are searching for online

4 Favourite destinations vary depending on the device The favourite holiday destinations searched for among Hong Kongers are similar across all platforms and half of the top 10 destinations are within Asia. Bangkok, Tokyo and Seoul appear in the top 5 for desktop, iphone and Android searches. Vancouver is favoured by Android users only, while iphone and desktop users look to travel to US destinations, particularly New York and Los Angeles. Similarities can be drawn with users in other regions. Bangkok is also popular across all platforms for Australian, Singaporean and UK users, and while it sits in the top 3 for all Hong Kong travellers, it is number 8 for Australians, number one for Singaporeans and the second most popular for UK travellers. Android iphone Desktop Seoul London Bangkok 01 Taipei Bangkok London Bangkok Tokyo London Tokyo Taipei Seoul Tokyo Singapore Seoul Osaka Singapore Paris Vancouver Singapore New York Los Angeles Osaka New York Taipei Paris San Francisco San Francisco Paris Los Angeles

5 Most popular mobile platforms: Hong Kongers prefer searching for travel via the app KAYAK found that of all mobile travel searches, 62% occurred in the app, which could indicate that Hong Kongers prefer the usability of the app over the mobile or tablet-optimised website. The iphone app is by far the most popular mobile platform, accounting for over one third (36%) of all searches on mobile platforms. The iphone app is also the most frequently used mobile platform in Singapore, Australia, and most of Europe, with the exception of Poland and Spain, where the majority of mobile travel searches are conducted on the Android app. 10% ipad 9% Tablet browser 36% iphone 19% Mobile browser 26% Android

6 Cabin classes: Hong Kong iphone users are more likely to fly business class than users on other platforms Hong Kong travellers overwhelmingly prioritise value over comfort, with more than 90% of users across all platforms searching for economy class flights. iphone users are more likely to search for business class flights than those using other platforms. Similarly, iphone users in the UK, Australia and Singapore are also more likely to search for business class flights than users on other platforms. First Business Economy Premium Economy 95% 95% 90% 7% 3% 4% <1% 1% <1% 1% 2% 1% Android iphone Desktop Android iphone Desktop Android iphone Desktop Android iphone Desktop

7 Hotel star ratings: searching for mid-range to high-end hotels is the norm The majority of Hong Kongers prefer to search for mid-range to high-end hotels, with less than 14% of all searches across Android, iphone and desktop being for hotels ranked 2 stars or below. iphone users show a preference for the finer things in life, with more than one third (34%) of all searches for accommodation are for 5-star hotels; slightly more than desktop users (31%) and significantly more than Android users (22%). In comparison, Australian iphone users are also more likely to search for luxury hotels than other users. However, in Singapore, users of both iphone and desktop are equally likely to search for high-end hotels. Stars: 22% 30% 24% 36% 35% 34% 34% 31% 22% 11% 9% 1% <1% 2% 7% 1% Android iphone Desktop

8 HKD Purchasing power how much Hong Kongers are willing to spend on travel

9 Spending on popular destinations: Hong Kong desktop users are the least price sensitive Hong Kong desktop users are less price sensitive than mobile users when searching and booking travel online. This would indicate that despite the growing trend in mobile travel planning, Hong Kongers are still more confident spending higher amounts on their desktop than on mobile devices. Hong Kong travellers spend, on average, up to 21% more on their preferred destinations on desktop compared to mobile. Looking at the split on mobile, iphone users spend, on average, 16% more than Android users on popular destinations. These findings draw similarities with British and Australian iphone users, who also spend more on trips to popular destinations than Android users. In contrast, Singaporean Android users spend 3% more on popular destinations than iphone users. When it comes to the ten most popular destinations, KAYAK data experts note that on average, flights booked by Hong Kongers on their desktop are more expensive than those booked on mobile. It would seem Hong Kong travellers using desktop have a fixed idea of when they want to fly, as opposed to mobile users who seem to be more flexible on timing and tend to browse for better deals while on the go. Average spending - top 10 most popular destinations (HKD) HKD Android iphone Desktop Mobile Popular Destinations Popular Destinations Popular Destinations HKD HKD HKD 01 Seoul 3303 London Bangkok 2806

10 Average spending - top 10 most popular destinations (HKD) Mobile Travel Report Spending on popular destinations: Hong Kong desktop users are the least price sensitive HKD Android iphone Desktop Mobile Popular Destinations Popular Destinations Popular Destinations HKD HKD HKD 01 Seoul 3303 London Bangkok Taipei 1752 Bangkok 2837 London Bangkok 2465 Tokyo 4086 Tokyo Tokyo 3582 Taipei 1938 Singapore London Seoul 3690 Seoul Osaka 3008 Singapore 1923 New York Singapore 1706 New York Taipei Paris 8830 Los Angeles Paris Vancouver 7745 Osaka 2931 San Francisco San Francisco 7373 Paris 9140 Los Angeles Android iphone Desktop

11 Spending on expensive destinations: Hong Kongers prefer desktop to mobile when searching and booking expensive flights When searching for flights to the most expensive destinations, Hong Kong travellers still far prefer to use their desktop computer, with a willingness to spend almost twice as much (86% more) on desktop than on mobile devices. This could be explained by the series of filters available on the KAYAK.com.hk desktop site, which allow users to tailor their searches according to extensive criteria. From a mobile perspective, Hong Kongers spend 12% more on expensive destinations on iphone than on Android. This gap in spending between Hong Kong iphone and Android users is greater than that for Australian mobile users, who spend just 2% more on iphone than Android, and significantly less than that for Singaporean mobile users, who spend 37% more on iphone. Excluding Sydney and Auckland, all of the expensive flights Hong Kong travellers search for are for destinations outside the Asia Pacific region and are quite different across devices. In fact, the top 10 list of expensive destinations for desktop, shares no single destination with the lists for mobile users. Desktop users show a strong preference for South American destinations including Santiago, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Lima, Bogota and Buenos Aires. In contrast, the lists for both iphone and Android users contain no South American destinations, but do share Honolulu, New York and London as favoured expensive destinations. 21% more spend on expensive destinations on desktop than on mobile 16% more spend on expensive destinations on iphone than on Android

12 Average spending - top 10 most expensive destinations (HKD) HKD Android iphone Desktop Mobile Expensive Destinations Expensive Destinations Expensive Destinations HKD HKD HKD 01 Honolulu 9838 Auckland 9753 Santiago New York 8931 Chicago 9319 Rio De Janeiro London 8241 Toronto 9094 Sao Paulo Paris 7505 Honolulu 8924 Lima Zurich 7373 San Francisco 8753 Mexico City Los Angeles 7055 Milan 8737 Bogota Rome 7047 New York 8450 Buenos Aires Sydney 6915 London 8202 Raleigh-Durham Seattle 6908 Vancouver 8094 Naples Prague 6900 Berlin 7993 Montreal Android iphone Desktop

13 Spending on 4 and 5 star hotels: Hong Kong desktop users search for luxury hotels more than users on mobile When it comes to searching for hotels, Hong Kongers using a desktop computer are the most likely to look for luxury hotels. 69% of hotel searches on desktop are for 4 and 5 star hotels, compared to 67% on iphone and 56% on Android devices. This behaviour matches that found among Singaporean and Australian travellers, with iphone users in these countries also being the most likely to choose luxury accommodation. 69% of desktop hotel searches are for 4 and 5 star hotels Over in Europe, the top countries for luxury hotel bookings across all platforms are the UK, Germany, and Switzerland. Swiss iphone users in particular are keen on luxury hotels, with 72% of hotel bookings being for 4 and 5 star hotels.

14 Time how much time Hong Kongers dedicate to searching and booking travel

15 Flights: Hong Kong desktop users take the most time searching for flights Hong Kongers tend to spend more time and money when searching and booking flights on desktop, meaning they are more cautious in finding the best deal than users on mobile devices. Amongst Hong Kongers, Android users are the fastest flight bookers, with an average of just 4 minutes spent searching before entering the booking process, compared to 6 minutes on iphone. This makes mobile users in general 3 minutes faster in finding a flight deal than desktop users, who take an average of 8 minutes to make up their minds. Average search time Android 4min Average search time iphone 6min Average search time difference 2min

16 Hotels: Hong Kong Android users take the most time searching for hotels The average search behaviour of Hong Kong mobile and desktop users is identical regarding time spent searching for hotels before entering the booking process. However, when it comes to the mobile split, Android users take the most time reviewing the results, at 8 minutes, followed by desktop at 7 minutes and iphone at 6 minutes. In addition, Android users spend, on average, 4 minutes longer when searching for hotels than for flights. Desktop users, on the other hand, spend one minute less on hotel searches (7 minutes) than flight searches (8 minutes). Average search time Android 8min Average search time iphone 6min Average search time difference 2min

17 Top weekdays to search: Hong Kongers search for travel on their desktop at work, then switch to mobile on Sundays Hong Kongers like to settle back into the work week by searching for travel on desktop, with 34% of all desktop searches being made on Mondays and Tuesdays. Searches for travel on both iphone and Android tend to happen on the first and last day of the week; with 30% of travel searches being made by iphone and Android users on Mondays or Sundays. Australians and Singaporeans show comparative behaviour, with more than 30% of desktop searches occurring on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the busiest mobile search days being Sundays and Mondays. Busiest days of the week Android iphone Desktop Sunday Sunday Monday 01 Monday Monday Tuesday Tuesday Saturday Wednesday Tuesday Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Thursday Sunday Thursday Friday Thursday Friday Friday Saturday

18 Top time of the day to search: the busiest time for travel searches differs between mobile and desktop 9 8 iphone 3 4 Searching for travel falls into general online activities, among news, s and texts, but for Hong Kongers there are definite distinctions with regards to when these searches occur on mobile devices or desktop throughout the day. Travel searches on desktop increase in the morning from 10am, staying fairly steady through lunch and reaching their peak at 2pm. This corresponds to the data for Singaporean and Australian users, which also shows a peak in desktop searches at 2pm. In the evening, Hong Kongers get back on mobile (by Android pm), with mobile searching again increasing (from 9pm to 11pm), accounting for 24% of all searches on mobile throughout the day. In comparison, the busiest window of time for mobile searches is 8pm to 11pm for Singaporean users and 7pm to 9pm for Australian users Desktop

19 When Hong Kongers book: Hong Kongers on desktop book less in advance than mobile users Hong Kong travellers on desktop prefer to leave it closer to the time of travel to search. Mobile users book on average 7 days sooner than desktop users. Days in advance 63 Days in advance 42 This trend remains consistent for cars, flights and hotel bookings. iphone users are the most relaxed bookers when it comes to cars, booking an average of 42 days in advance, the shortest time compared to users on any other platform and for any product. At the opposite Android iphone end of the spectrum, Android users book flights an average of 65 days in advance. While Singaporean users also book less in advance on desktop, Australian and British users show the opposite behaviour, with a distinct tendency to book less in advance on mobile. Mobile average Days in advance Desktop Days in advance

20 Average length of trip: Hong Kong travellers search for long trips on desktop computers When Hong Kongers book travel, they tend to favour shorter trips. Trips of one week or less make up more than 75% of all trips searched for by Android and iphone users and 63% of all trips searched on desktop. Long trips of more than 2 weeks seem to be less frequently searched for, particularly on Android and iphone, at only 7% and 3% of searches respectively. In contrast, 13% of desktop searches are for longer trips (more than 2 weeks), indicating Hong Kongers prefer the usability of their desktop computer over a mobile device, as booking long vacations generally requires far more planning than a short trip. Similarly, Australian and Singaporean users also tend towards using their desktop computer when booking longer vacations. Android 3 days 1 week 2 weeks More than 2 weeks 40% 35% 18% 7% Trip duration iphone 3 days 1 week 2 weeks More than 2 weeks 30% 46% 21% 3% Desktop 3 days 1 week 2 weeks More than 2 weeks 27% 36% 24% 13%

21 Mobile Travel Personas

22 Hong Kong iphone Travel Persona Spends an average of HK$6339 on flights to popular destinations Spends 6 minutes searching for a hotel Books hotels 51 days in advance Spends 6 minutes searching for a flight Searches on Sundays Ideal time to search: 10pm Books cars 43 days in advance Books flights 42 days in advance More likely to buy a business class ticket than users of other devices Prefers to book getaways lasting one week or less Favourite city is London Favourite expensive destination is Auckland Favourite KAYAK features are Trips and Explore

23 Hong Kong Android Travel Persona Spends an average of HK$5329 on flights to popular destinations Spends 8 minutes searching for a hotel Books hotels 65 days in advance Spends 4 minutes searching for a flight Searches on Sundays Ideal time to search: 8pm Books cars 50 days in advance Books flights 63 days in advance Prefers to fly economy Prefers to book getaways lasting one week or less Favourite city is Seoul Favourite expensive destination is Honolulu Favourite KAYAK features are Flight Tracker and Trips

24 Hong Kong Desktop Travel Persona Spends an average of HK$7359 on flights to popular destinations Spends 7 minutes searching for a hotel Books hotels 41 days in advance Spends 8 minutes searching for a flight Searches on Mondays Ideal time to search: 2pm Books cars 45 days in advance Books flights 52 days in advance Prefers to fly economy Prefers to book getaways lasting one week or less Favourite city is Bangkok Favourite expensive destination is Santiago Favourite KAYAK features are Trips and Explore

25 Mobile Travel Hacks and Facts

26 Facts 33% of usage of the KAYAK app is at the airport, or nearby. 40,000,000 KAYAK app has been downloaded 40 million times and in 120 countries The KAYAK app is also available on Kindle Fire

27 Hacks Charge your phone in flight mode - it will charge a lot quicker! Don t have a charger or adaptor? Use a USB cable to charge your phone. Don t have a laptop? Plug the USB cable into the TV in your hotel room. Before leaving for your trip, download an offline map on your smartphone so you can check your route without using your data. Keep chargers and headphones in a glasses case to stop them getting tangled. If the back of your plane seat doesn t have a TV, put your phone in a clear plastic bag and hook it to the back of the tray table. Make your device charge last longer: be sure to have a fully-charged power bank with you when you travel, especially if you re heading to a remote area with no electricity. It s no problem if your hotel room is lacking speakers, just grab a cup and put your mobile phone inside to instantly amplify the sound. If you don t have a phone holder in your car, use a rubber band and wrap it around the blower fan. Include nearby airports when searching for flights on the KAYAK app to find the cheapest route to your destination. Want to watch movies hands-free? Use your sunglasses as a mobile phone stand. On any flat surface, simply flip your sunglasses upside down and rest your phone against them.

28 Analysis for the Mobile Travel Report is based on data from searches for hotels, flights and cars in 2014 and 2015 on the mobile apps, mobile websites and desktop websites of KAYAK. Hacks insights are provided by KAYAK experts.