Despite the obstacles, there is a small but significant amount of travel booking being done via smartphone. And much of that booking is same-day purchases, according to eMarketer. When travel shoppers use their mobile phones, they tend to be looking for a last-minute flight, car rental or hotel room. Recent data reported by some of the largest online travel agencies showed just how common last-minute booking is: Both Orbitz and Travelocity have reported that more than 60% of hotel bookings made on mobile phones were for the same day.
Consumers are using smartphones to guide their travels from start to finish, whether that's for last-minute bookings, connecting to destination-related information or seeking personalized recommendations.
Numerous challenges, however, are slowing the mass adoption of mobile travel tools, particularly those designed for making travel reservations, according to a eMarketer report, "The Mobile Traveler: How Smartphones Are Changing the Customer Journey."
Already, smartphones have had a strong impact on the travel industry, and increasing mobile device adoption will continue to influence the way consumers make travel plans. In 2012, roughly 36 million Americans will use a smartphone to research travel. eMarketer estimates that number will double by 2016. Over the same time period, eMarketer forecasts that the number of smartphone-using travel bookers will jump from 15.8 million to 36.3 million.
US smartphone travel researchers, 2010-2016:
- 2010:17.2 million (16.0% of online travel researchers)
- 2011: 27.1 million (23.7%)
- 2012: 36.4 million (30.4%)
- 2013: 45.0 million (36.4%)
- 2014: 53.6 million (42.1%)
- 2015: 62.8 million (47.9%)
- 2016: 72.6 million (53.9%)
US smartphone travel bookers, 2010-2016:
- 2010: 8.0 million (9.2% of online travel bookers)
- 2011: 11.9 million (12.6%)
- 2012: 15.8 million (16.1%)
- 2013: 20.0 million (19.6%)
- 2014: 25.0 million (23.8%)
- 2015: 30.2 million (27.9%)
- 2016: 36.3 million (32.5%)
(eMarketer, August 2012)
