Anite Travel Systems' Online Travel Survey 2000

Citation

(2001), "Anite Travel Systems' Online Travel Survey 2000", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 29 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2001.08929iab.002

Anite Travel Systems' Online Travel Survey 2000

Anite Travel Systems' Online Travel Survey 2000

Summary of key findings

Travel industry e-commerce pioneer, Anite Travel Systems' Online Travel Survey 2000, shows consumer appetite for online travel content is great – but unsatisfied by travel providers. Other key findings include: established travel brands are more popular than travel dotcoms; Web shopping is popular, but consumers are concerned about online fraud; and more men book travel online than women.

Key Findings

1. Travel

Anite Travel Systems' survey demonstrates that respondents enjoy widespread Web access, enjoy online shopping, are particularly keen to make travel purchases and have every intention of increasing their online travel booking activity.

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  Online travel promises to explode, with over 63 per cent of consumers believing the Internet will be the dominant technology for booking travel in five years' time.

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  Most consumers want to book travel on the Internet. Some 37 per cent agreed with the statement "I would like to make all my travel arrangements over the Internet", while only 22 per cent of respondents have a strong bias against using the Web for travel bookings.

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  Package holidays barely feature online. Only 7 per cent of consumers had booked a package holiday online. Most respondents had only booked components including flights (38 per cent of respondents had booked flights) and hotels (30 per cent).

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  Dotcoms have not gained the public's confidence. Most respondents prefer to book with an established travel provider. Some 30 per cent said they would use the site of a recognised travel provider to book travel, with just 10 per cent preferring a "general interest site" selling travel and non-travel products – the remainder using a mixture of the two.

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  Confusion exists about which Web sites offer online travel bookings. Some 76 per cent of respondents believed at least half of travel Web sites offered bookings, while estimates suggest that less than 10 per cent of travel industry principals are bookable.

2. Online shopping

Consumers enjoy shopping on the Internet on a regular basis, and believe the Web's role in their purchasing activities will increase. However, consumers do not yet believe the Internet offers the best route to value-for-money shopping, nor do they see it only as a source of bargains. In addition, Internet providers still have to reassure consumers about the security of shopping online.

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  Consumers have embraced online shopping with a vengeance. Only 22 per cent said they actively did not enjoy buying goods on the Net.

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  Web shopping is a new phenomenon for most: 56 per cent made their first online purchase within the last 12 months, but 86 per cent of respondents had gone on to make multiple purchases.

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  Fear of fraud stops people shopping online. Only 36 per cent of respondents were not worried about giving out their financial details over the Internet.

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  Bargain hunting is not a key reason to go online. Some 59 per cent of consumers said they would use the Web to buy high and low priced goods and services. A majority disagreed with the statements: "I will only buy low value goods and services over the Internet" and "shopping on the Internet is the only way to get the cheapest deals".

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  Consumers shop around online to obtain the best price. Only 33 per cent said they did not compare prices between different sites for the same goods and services.

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  Grocery shopping has not taken off, with only 2 per cent of respondents regularly using the Net for buying groceries.

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  Night-time is the most popular time for online shopping.

3. Women and men

Men are more likely to book travel online except when it comes to the family holiday, where women still call the shots. However, the Web still appeals to women. Some 63 per cent of women taking part in Anite's survey believe the Internet will be the most popular online medium for booking travel in five years' time, against 59 per cent of men.

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  Women are less likely to book travel online. Men make 52 per cent of all bookings.

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  Family holidays are still mainly booked by women and 54 per cent of online bookings of package holidays are made by women.

For further information, please contact Helen Oakeley at Roooster. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8743 8111; Fax: +44 (0) 20 8743 0888; E-mail: helen.oakeley@rooster.co.uk Web: www.rooster.co.uk