The Canadian Traveler s Path to Purchase

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1 The Canadian Traveler s Path to Purchase

2 METHODOLOGY Expedia Media Solutions commissioned comscore to conduct a study on travel path to purchase in Canada comscore blended online travel behavioral data with data collected through a custom survey Custom Survey Qualifications Age 18+ Live in Canada Booked travel online within past six months Survey fielded from 815 total completes Behavioral Data Sources comscore PC Panel (2 million devices worldwide) comscore Mobile Panel (15 thousand devices) comscore Multi-Platform comscore Census Tags (>1.5 trillion events monthly)

3 30 MILLION DIGITAL CANADIAN USERS CONSUMING 148 BILLION DIGITAL MINUTES EACH MONTH Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Reporting, CA, April 2016 data, Unique Visitors & Total Minutes. 3

4 R INC. PRICELINE.COM INCORPORATED EXPEDIA INC SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. MSN TRAVEL KAYAK.COM NETWORK FAREPORTAL MED AIRLINES AMERICAN AIRLINES MARRIOTT HILTON WORLDWIDE UNITED AIRLINES USA TODAY TRAVEL INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS G RENT-A-CAR COMPANY JETBLUE AIRWAYS DISNEY PARKS & TRAVEL AIRBNB SITES UBER WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE CHOICE HOTELS INTE GHT SEARCH TRAVELZOO TIME INC. AFFLUENT MEDIA GROUP ABOUT.COM TRAVEL CNN TRAVEL CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES AVIS BUDG WOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS AMTRAK.COM FOX NEWS TRAVEL FLYFRONTIER.COM LONELY PLANET SITES GLOBAL HYATT CORPORATI LINES.COM ALLEGIANTAIR.COM ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD. JUSTFLY.COM HERTZ HUFFPOST TRAVEL FODORS.COM FLIGHTAW TERN HOTELS RESERVEAMERICA GREAT WOLF RESORTS, 7 INC OF CHEAPFLIGHTS 10 SITES NCL.COM FIRSTGROUP PLC TRAVEL CHANNEL MED ESERVATIONCOUNTER.COM INTERNET BRANDS TRAVEL BOOKIT.COM CONDE NAST TRAVELER NATIONALPARKS.ORG COSTCOTRAVEL.COM GINAMERICA.COM TRAVELMATH.COM TRUSTYOU.COM EDREAMS ODIGEO PRINCESS.COM WEATHER CHANNEL TRAVEL MGM MIRA VEGAS.COM ATLASOBSCURA.COM THE EMIRATES GROUP HIPMUNK.COM CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT, INC. TOTALREWARDS.COM ES LQ.COM LYFT, INC. RADISSON HOTELS MAIL ONLINE TRAVEL MATADORNETWORK.COM DEALBASE.COM DOLLAR THRIFTY AUT IDES.COM DISNEYINFOBLOG.COM DIGITAL CANADIAN HAWAIIANAIR.COM WORLD USERS TRAVEL HOLDINGS CONSUME BRITISH AIRWAYS NATIONAL TRAVEL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVEL & APCARIBBEAN.COM GOSUR.COM ANSWERS.COM TRAVEL AND PLACES TRAVELTHAT.COM STAGECOACHBUS GROUP LUFTHANSA JETC OM HOTELPLANNER.COM HOTPOPTRAVEL.COM AIR FRANCE-KLM GROUP HOLLANDAMERICA.COM FROMMERS.COM SANDALS RESO PATH2USA.COM MOMONDO SITES INTERVALWORLD.COM CONTENT QATAR AIRWAYS EXTENDEDSTAYAMERICA.COM KOAKAMPGROUNDS.COM BOYD GAMING CORPORATION TRANSIT-INFO.COM ROADTRIPPERS.COM UNIVERSALORLANDOVACATIONS.COM RANDMCNALLY.COM RTFARES.COM AIRLINERS HOTELSONE.COM ETIHAD.COM APPLEVACATIONS.COM VOLARIS SITES STUDENTUNIVERSE.COM BBC TRAV EAPAIR.COM USTRAVELDOCS.COM AIRTKT.COM FLIGHTVIEW.COM OMNIHOTELS.COM SHERMANSTRAVEL AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVE TEL6.COM GUARDIAN TRAVEL WANDERU.COM SPIRITAIRLINES.COM HOTELS COMBINED MAKEMYTRIP TRAVELSAVVY.TV BOOKVIP.CO TELEGRAPH TRAVEL THEPOINTSGUY.COM LASVEGAS.COM SITES FOURSEASONS.COM CNN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL LOSTWALDO.COM AIR CANADA WHATSCHEAPER.COM CARTRAWLER.COM VISITORLANDO.COM RESERVATION-DESK.COM DUNHILLTRAVELDEALS.COM KYSCANNER SITES LOWFARES.COM ROME2RIO.COM MAPQUEST TRAVEL BOOKINGS ROOMKEY.COM GROUPE SNCF AMEXTRAVEL.COM CHEAPFAREGURU.COM TRAVELERSEEK.COM METRARAIL.COM ASAPTICKETS.COM BOARDINGAREA.COM DISTANCEBETWEENCITIES.NET OPPER.COM SMART DESTINATIONS, INC. DESTINATIONTIPS.COM CARIBBEANCRUISEGETAWAYS.COM AIRPORTPARKINGRESERVATIONS.COM Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Reporting, Canada, April 2016 data, Share of Total Monthly Internet Unique Visitors Visiting Travel Content. 4

806 MILLION MINUTES (+18% Y/Y) SPENT ON DIGITAL TRAVEL CONTENT IN CANADA IN COMPARISON, TOTAL INTERNET MINUTES DROPPED BY -1% IN CANADA Total Multi-Platform Travel Minutes (MM) 1,000 800 600 400 200

5 806 MILLION MINUTES (+18% Y/Y) SPENT ON DIGITAL TRAVEL CONTENT IN CANADA IN COMPARISON, TOTAL INTERNET MINUTES DROPPED BY -1% IN CANADA Total Multi-Platform Travel Minutes (MM) 1, Jan-2015 Feb-2015 Mar-2015 Apr-2015 May-2015 Jun-2015 Jul-2015 Aug-2015 Sep-2015 Oct-2015 Nov-2015 Dec-2015 Jan-2016 Feb-2016 Mar-2016 Apr-2016 Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Media Trend Reporting, Canada, January 2015 April 2016 data, Total Minutes. 5

MORE MINUTES ARE STILL SPENT ENGAGING WITH TRAVEL CONTENT ON DESKTOP DEVICES THAN MOBILE IN CANADA BUT MOBILE ENGAGEMENT IS GROWING Desktops Minutes (MM) Mobile Minutes (MM) 800 700 600 500 400 300

6 MORE MINUTES ARE STILL SPENT ENGAGING WITH TRAVEL CONTENT ON DESKTOP DEVICES THAN MOBILE IN CANADA BUT MOBILE ENGAGEMENT IS GROWING Desktops Minutes (MM) Mobile Minutes (MM) Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Media Trend Reporting, Canada, January 2015 May 2016 data, Total Minutes. 6

7 MOBILE NOW TIES DESKTOP FOR REACH WITHIN THE ONLINE TRAVEL INDUSTRY IN CANADA Mobile reaches 64% of all Canadian online travel users, while desktop has declined to 65% reach 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 73% Apr % 65% Apr % Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Media Trend Reporting, Canada, April 2015 & April 2016 data, Reach of Travel from each Platform to Total Digital Unique Visitors. 7

8 WITH MOBILE TRAVEL USAGE ON THE RISE, WE SEE CANADIAN USERS SLOWLY SHIFTING AWAY FROM DESKTOP-ONLY USAGE 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% MOBILE-ONLY 27% MULTI-PLATFORM 27% DESKTOP-ONLY 35% 29% 46% 36% Apr-2015 Share of Total Digital Travel Users April 2015 versus April 2016 Apr-2016 Data Source: comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform Media Trend Reporting, U.S., April 2015 April 2016 data, Platform Share of Multi-Platform Total Unique Visitors. 8

9 BROWSER REACHES 95% OF THE TRAVEL CATEGORY AUDIENCE AND COMPRISES NEARLY 3 OF 4 MINUTES SPENT ON MOBILE MOBILE APPS SHOW HIGHER MINUTES PER USER ENGAGEMENT THAN MOBILE BROWSE 100% 80% 95% Travel Category Access Method Comparison April % 60% 40% 20% 0% 26% 15% BROWSER APPLICATION BROWSER APPLICATION % Reach to Total Travel Audience % Share of Total Travel Minutes Data Source: comscore Mobile Metrix Reporting, Canada, Total Minutes, Travel Category Cut by Access Method (Application versus Browser), April 2016 data. 9

10 HALF OF SMARTPHONE OWNERS AND CLOSE TO THREE IN FIVE TABLET OWNERS ENGAGE WITH THEIR DEVICES WHEN PLANNING TRIPS Researched Using a Smartphone (Base: Smartphone Owners) Researched Using a Tablet (Base: Tablet Owners) 50% 57% Data Source: comscore Survey, MOBILESEARCH. DID YOU USE YOUR MOBILE DEVICE(S) TO PLAN OR RESEARCH THE TRIP YOU MOST RECENTLY BOOKED? SMARTPHONE / TABLET Among CA Online Travel Bookers with Smartphones (n=687), Among CA Online Travel Bookers with Tablets (n=550) 10

11 THE MAJORITY OF ONLINE BOOKERS TRAVEL WITH COMPANIONS 56% 4 IN 5 TRAVEL WITH A COMPANION TRAVEL WITH THEIR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER 19% TRAVEL ALONE Data Source: comscore Survey, COMPANION. WHO TRAVELED/WILL BE TRAVELING WITH YOU? Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815) 11

TRAVEL IS A CONSIDERED & TIME CONSUMING PURCHASE FOR ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS TRAVEL BOOKERS USE >3 RESOURCE TYPES THROUGHOUT THE DECISION PROCESS (ONLINE & OFFLINE).

12 TRAVEL IS A CONSIDERED & TIME CONSUMING PURCHASE FOR ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS TRAVEL BOOKERS USE >3 RESOURCE TYPES THROUGHOUT THE DECISION PROCESS (ONLINE & OFFLINE). MILLENNIALS USE 13% MORE RESOURCE TYPES THAN OVERALL BOOKERS Travel Engagement Avg. Weekly Minutes per Booker Week 6 before Week 5 before Week 4 before Week 3 before Week 2 before Week 1 before Week of booking 23 VISITS NUMBER OF TRAVEL VISITS ON AVERAGE PER WEEK ONLINE BOOKERS SPEND THROUGHOUT THE 45 DAYS PRIOR TO BOOKING. > 1 HR AVERAGE TIME CANADIAN ONLINE BOOKERS SPENT ON ONLINE TRAVEL AGENT SITES ON DESKTOP THE WEEK OF BOOKING. BOOKERS ARE ALMOST 2X MORE LIKELY TO BOOK AN INTERNATIONAL TRIP THAN A DOMESTIC TRIP. Data Source: [Clockwise from top left] Boxes 1, 2: comscore Survey, RESOURCE. WHAT ARE ALL THE RESOURCES YOU USED PRIOR TO BOOKING YOUR MOST RECENT TRIP?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815), Millennials (n=275), Box 3, 5 & 6: comscore Canada Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Visitation Analysis, Weekly Visits per User, Dec 15 Feb 16. Box 4: BOOKPLACE. THINKING ABOUT YOUR MOST RECENT TRIP YOU HAVE BOOKED, WHERE IS THE DESTINATION?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815) 12

13 CLOSE TO TWO-THIRDS OF MILLENNIAL ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS START WITH MULTIPLE DESTINATIONS IN MIND Number of Destinations Considered 48% 52% 2 or more One 63% OF MILLENNIAL TRAVEL BOOKERS CONSIDER 2+ DESTINATIONS. Data Source: comscore Survey, DESTINATIONS. PRIOR TO DECIDING ON YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, HOW MANY OTHER DESTINATIONS DID YOU CONSIDER VISITING?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815), Millennials (n=275) 13

14 ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS HAVE INCREASING REACH WITH TRAVEL CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKS PRECEDING A BOOKING EVENT By the end of the booking path average visits per booker increased by 132%, resulting in close to daily visits to travel sites, on average. Number of visits to travel sites made by bookers 45 days before booking: Average Travel Site Visits per Week (Number of travel sites visited per week by the average segment member, Oct 15-Feb 16 aggregate) Week 6 before Week 5 before Week 4 before Week 3 before Week 2 before Week 1 before Week of booking Read as: The average segment member makes 31.3 visits to travel sites in the week leading up to the booking Data Source: comscore Canada Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Visitation Analysis, Weekly Visits per User, Dec 15 Feb

15 ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS HAVE INCREASING ENGAGEMENT WITH TRAVEL CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKS PRECEDING A BOOKING EVENT CANADIANS SPEND OVER SIX HOURS WITH TRAVEL CONTENT THE WEEK OF BOOKING Avg. Desktop Travel Minutes per Booker Week 6 before Week 5 before Week 4 before Week 3 before Week 2 before Week 1 before Week of Booking comscore Canada Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Visitation Analysis, Weekly Visits per User, Dec 15 Feb 16 15

16 OTAS HAVE THE MOST ENGAGEMENT OF ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS COMPARED TO TRAVEL SITE CATEGORIES THROUGHOUT BOOKERS TRAVEL BOOKING PATHS Share of Travel Visits Throughout 45 Day Path to Booking Airline, 13% Cruise, 3% Ground/Rail/Auto/Bus, 4% DMO, 3% Other, 1% OTA, 33% Accommodations, 17% Travel Information (TripAdvisor), 26% Data Source: comscore Canada Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Visitation Analysis & Categorization, Share of Total Visits per User Across 45 Day Path, Dec 15 Feb 16, Custom Travel Booker Audience Segment. 16

ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS HAVE INCREASING ENGAGEMENT WITH TRAVEL CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKS PRECEDING A BOOKING EVENT Average Visits to Travel Categories per Week (Average visits per booker to sites

17 ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS HAVE INCREASING ENGAGEMENT WITH TRAVEL CONTENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEKS PRECEDING A BOOKING EVENT Average Visits to Travel Categories per Week (Average visits per booker to sites within each travel category, by week, Dec 15-Feb 16 aggregate) 6 Weeks Out 5 Weeks Out 4 Weeks Out 3 Weeks Out 2 Weeks Out OTAs show strong growth throughout the weeks leading up to travel bookings. Airline sites are also commonly visited by online bookers. 1 Week Out Week of Booking DMO Hotels & Resorts Airlines OTAs Travel Information (Trip Advisor) Data Source: comscore Canada Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Visitation Analysis & Categorization, Weekly Visits per User, Dec 15 Feb 16, Custom Travel Booker Audience Segment.. 17

18 OTAS AND FAMILY/FRIEND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THE TOP RESOURCES USE FIRST WHILE DECIDING ON A DESTINATION 18% 18% First Resource Used 10% 8% 5% 4% 4% 3% 3% 3% OTAs Friend / family recs Airline sites Search engines Search engine travel sites (yahoo.com/travel) Hotel sites Travel information sites Offline travel agency Travel Online travel guide books / magazines sites Data Source: comscore Survey, STARTCA. WHAT WAS THE FIRST RESOURCE YOU USED TO HELP YOU DECIDE ON THE DESTINATION OF YOUR RECENT BOOKING?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815) Not listed: 2%: Destination sites, social media, aggregator/meta-search sites, home rental sites, online travel videos, ground transportation/cruise sites, rental car sites, destination s call center, my company s travel site, deal buying sites, blogs, live TV shows 18

19 SEARCH ENGINES FAMILY/FRIEND RECS OTAS AIRLINES HOTELS OTAS, AIRLINES SITES, AND HOTEL SITES ARE USED RELATIVELY CONSISTENTLY ACROSS THE PURCHASE PATH 71% 66% Resource Used Timeframe 52% 39% 30% 39% 34% 37% 39% 29% 29% 28% 30% 33% 40% 21% 18% 21% 5% 6% When I First Started When I Was Narrowing Options Right Before Booking Used to Book Overlap in resource usage decreases Data Source: comscore Survey, WHENRESOURCECA. TOP 5 - WHEN DID YOU USE EACH RESOURCE FOR THE RECENT BOOKING OF YOUR TRIP?, Among CA Online Travel Bookers Who Used Each Resource (n= ) 19

20 FRIEND/FAMILY RECOMMENDATIONS AND OTAS ARE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ONLINE RESOURCES IN THE DESTINATION DECISION PROCESS Friend / family recs Online travel agencies (Expedia.com, etc.) Most Influential Resource 18% 19% Airline sites (United.com, etc.) 14% Search engines (Google.com, etc.) 8% Hotel sites (Marriott.com, etc.) Travel information sites (Tripadvisor.com, etc.) Search engine travel sites (Yahoo.com/travel, etc.) 5% 5% 6% Destination sites (Ontariotravel.net, etc.) Aggregator/Meta-search websites (Kayak.com) 3% 3% Data Source: comscore Survey, INFLUENTIALRESOURCECA. MOST INFLUENTIAL - PLEASE RANK THE TOP THREE RESOURCES THAT INFLUENCED YOUR DESTINATION DECISION. Among CA Online Travel Bookers Who Used Resources (n=778) 3%: Online travel guide sites, offline travel agency, travel books/magazines, deal buying sites, social media, destination s call center, blogs, ground transportation/cruise sites, rental car sites, home rental sites, online travel videos, my company s travel site, live TV shows, other 20

21 COST AND HOTEL/ACCOMMODATIONS ARE THE MOST CRITICAL INFORMATION IN HELPING ONLINE TRAVEL BOOKERS DECIDE ON A DESTINATION Travel costs Hotel / accommodation Family / friends recs Weather / climate info Reviews / ratings Activities to do Time to destination Hotel / Airfare loyalty programs Most Critical Content on Destination Decision 19% 18% 16% 16% 13% 10% 29% 50% Data Source: comscore Survey, CRITCONTENT. WHAT INFORMATION WAS MOST CRITICAL IN HELPING YOU DECIDE ON YOUR DESTINATION?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers (n=815) 9%: Pictures of destination, destination history/culture, health/safety, restaurant info/reviews, destination videos, local transport, travel insurance info, organized tours, other None of the above=5% 21

22 38% of TRAVEL BOOKERS ARE INFLUENCED BY ADVERTISING WHEN CONSIDERING MORE THAN ONE LOCATION Data Source: comscore Survey, DESTINATIONAD. Did any advertising (via online banners, online videos, TV, radio, magazines, etc.) influence your decision to visit [specific destination]?, Among Total CA Online Travel Bookers Who Considered More than One Destination (n=425) 22

23 AS TRAVEL AD IMPRESSIONS INCREASE, BOOKERS RECALL FEWER ADS BOOKERS ARE STILL ENGAGING WITH TRAVEL SITES, BUT IT IS LESS LIKELY THAT ADVERTISING WILL AFFECT THEIR DECISIONS. 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000-80% 73% 70% 51% 26,142 60% 50% 18,452 40% 12,589 30% 29% 20% 10% 0% First Started Looking Narrowing Options Right Before Booking Weekly Impression Rate Recall Rate Data Sources: Total Impressions Volume Metric: Data Source: comscore CA Desktop Panel, Custom Path to Booking Ad Impression Analysis, Travel Booker Segment, Total Ad Impressions in 45 Travel Path to Booking, Dec 15 Feb 16 Booking Time Period. Average Recall Rate: comscore Survey, ADNOTICE. WHEN DID YOU NOTICE ADVERTISING RELATED TO EACH TRAVEL SERVICE? (Among CA Online Travel Buyers Who Noticed Ads for Each Service (n=524)) 23

KEY FINDINGS & INSIGHTS Travel content is widely consumed in Canada, with double digit growth year over year Mobile usage is growing with mobile engagement, however is still less than desktop Travel

24 KEY FINDINGS & INSIGHTS Travel content is widely consumed in Canada, with double digit growth year over year Mobile usage is growing with mobile engagement, however is still less than desktop Travel is a considered and time-consuming purchase, leading travel bookers to make hundreds of visits to travel sites in the weeks leading up to a purchase Throughout the booking path, OTAs have the highest engagement across travel site categories, accounting for more than 30 percent of total site visits Nearly 40 percent of travel bookers were influenced by advertising when considering more than one destination Advertising recall is the highest in the initial stages of the purchase journey, when exposure is the lowest

25 THANK YOU TO LEARN MORE DOWNLOAD The Canadian Digital Traveler Landscape Whitepaper bit.ly/canadiantraveler

Traveler s Path to Purchase

Traveler s Path to Purchase DEREK PRICE Director, North America Expedia Media Solutions Previous experience: More than 20 years experience in the travel industry holding roles in everything from Leisure