Expedia And British Airways Proved To Be The 2 Most Popular Sites To Use Due

Expedia and British Airways proved to be the 2 most popular sites to use due to their reputation while thomson-holidays.co.uk scored poorly (50% agreeing to the fact that the site is not attractive and 60% believing that it is not that reputable). In line with most people having a few holidays a year, most people use the internet a few times a month to view travel websites. On either side a significant number use the internet for booking personal holidays though 80% of the participants were afraid of using the credit card online.
As expected most people use travel sites to book flights. This is their main purpose and hence where sites are going to gain most exposure and revenue. Most people use a particular site due to prices. However, with the other features also scoring highly, it indicates that most people still require the site to be of a decent standard. Most consumers will initially go to a site for price, but expect it to be a secure, easy to use and efficient site as well.
When suppliers are deciding what to focus on for the future better offers and real time confirmation seems to be what consumers want. Price of tickets and ease of use were the two most important issues identified by the participants while using a web site for holiday and activity booking while other useful links, website's reputation and lots of photos on the website scored low. Search capability and download speed were again identified as factors which are a MUST for a holiday and activity booking web site.
The extras such as personalised features, feedback provision, good search engine, links to other company websites and minimal mouse travel and keystrokes scored quite lowly. A significant number of people wanted greater flexibility and more information when booking their travel. With such a large majority of people still believing that a travel agent is still needed and using credit card online is risky, travel sites have a long way to go to gain market share. They need to provide more than just better prices to attract and retain customers.
Chapter 5 - Evaluate Website Results
5.1 Introduction
Already done by the Client
5.2 Summary
Research carried out by Carlson Digital revealed that word-of mouth is the main reason why sites were visited for the first time, and very few of respondents believed online brands 'knew what made them tick'(Brand strategy, 2002). Without the benefit of human contact, internet companies have to work harder at understanding customer needs, delivering against these and finding ways to engage with the customer. Research found that customer expectations are high, and they are completely unforgiving of organisations who fail to respond quickly (Brand strategy, 2002).
Technical factors such as site navigation, design and downloading speed can determine whether customers will revisit a site or not.