Datalex research finds ‘the digitisation gap’

On 12 January, Datalex released their latest research into travellers’ digital retail expectations and the digital retailing priorities of airline executives. One key finding was a digitalisation’ gap, “highlighting an expectation disparity between airlines and their customers.”

Datalex is a market leader in digital commerce for travel retail, helping airlines to drive revenue and profit.

The research engaged with over 150 airline executives and approximately 10,000 travellers from 10 countries worldwide including Ireland, the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Responses include C-Level and VP Level Airline Executives from a range of full-service, low-cost carriers (LCCs), and start up airlines.

The insights into traveller expectations found by Datalex were particularly interesting.

Engaging with the respondents, Datalex tried to establish these questions and more:

• What frustrates travellers with the digital booking experience?
• What do they want and expect from their digital travel experience in an era that is more digitally driven than ever before?
• What ancillaries are they willing to pay more for and when?

Highlights from the research into travellers’ expectations are:

• Only 11 per cent of travellers believe airlines are ahead of other e-commerce providers.
• 70 per cent of travellers are more likely to purchase is several products are bundled together.
• 75 per cent of travellers are most likely to prioritise the use of loyalty points as a payment method.
• 53 per cent of travellers are likely to use Buy Now Pay Later (or similar) payment methods.
• 48 per cent are likely to use Apple Pay.
• 34 per cent would like to use cryptocurrency as a method of payment for travel. Respondents in the US were most positively in favour of cryptocurrency payment options. See here for more content relating to this.
• 42 per cent of travellers were willing to pay more for a flight with an airline with better sustainability credentials.

As airlines develop their digital retail offering, it is imperative that the customer remains at the heart of their vision for the future. Therefore, research into the expectations of customers in this space is vital.

At Aviation Festival Asia, the future of retail technology will be explored in depth by a range of industry experts including the Head of E-Commerce & Ancillary at Oman Air.

Article by Jess Brownlow

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