Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Leisure and Business Traveler Trends
Report | Published: January 2012
Free For: Global Subscribers
PUBLICATION SUMMARY
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With smartphone adoption crossing the 50% mark for leisure travelers and nearing three fourths of business travelers, the mobile Web is teeming with new users and fresh opportunities. Trip planning and research, booking and a range of other travel-related activities are beginning to flourish on the small screen. Mobile has indeed hit the mainstream, and travel companies must understand the impact of the mobile Web on their businesses, and how to leverage this quickly developing platform.

PhoCusWright's Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Leisure and Business Traveler Trends delivers an in-depth look at the accelerating impact of the mobile Internet, with a focus on how travelers use the mobile Web for travel-related activities. Drawing on a combination of leisure and business traveler surveys, along with focus group sessions, this report provides an insightful snapshot of travelers' attitudes toward and usage of the mobile Web, and explores the fundamental trends that are shaping this dynamic channel.

PhoCusWright's Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Leisure and Business Traveler Trends reveals how travelers are increasingly turning to the mobile Internet to support their travel needs – before, during and after their trips. The report includes:

  • Smartphone adoption rates among leisure and business travelers, including smartphone penetration by age and operating system, and future purchase intentions
  • Key metrics on mobile Internet usage, such as frequency of usage, as well as situations and settings in which travelers access the mobile Internet
  • Analysis of the types of activities that travelers engage in via the mobile Web, along with their attitudes toward functions that involve location-sharing, providing personal information, conducting financial transactions and more
  • Travel-related activities conducted by leisure and business travelers via mobile phone, including research, purchase and post-purchase activities
  • Detailed examination of how leisure and business travelers use smartphones and the mobile Internet to plan and book travel products, including air, hotel, car rental and local activities
  • Use of mobile websites versus applications for travel-related activities, including types of sites and apps, factors that drive usage, frustrations and interest in future mobile Internet capabilities for travel
  • Leisure and business travel spend by smartphone ownership, operating system and mobile booking profile
The mobile platform is not just a PC alternative – it is also stimulating an entirely new realm of functionality and engagement. PhoCusWright's Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Leisure and Business Traveler Trends helps companies keep up with this evolving platform and hone their strategies for new frontiers in mobile communication and commerce.

Also available: Mobile Hits the Mainstream: Technology and Industry Trends (an Innovation Edition publication). This report studies the trends shaping mobile travel worldwide, tracking mobile device adoption in key global markets.

Not sure this is the report for you? Contact our experts to find the research that fits your needs. +1 860 350-4084 x501

OVERVIEW

Cost: US $895
CA $920 • £571 • €713
Contents: [view]
Methodology: [view]

ABOUT THE ANALYSTS

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Carroll Rheem

Senior Director, Research

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Marcello Gasdia

Analyst, Consumer Research

Table of Contents

Section 1: Overview, Methodology and Research Highlights

Section 2: Smartphone Adoption
Section 3: General Mobile Internet Usage

Section 4: Travel-Related Mobile Internet Usage

Section 5: Mobile Planning and Booking

Section 6: Demographics


LIST OF TABLES

Smartphone Ownership

Smartphone Ownership, by Age

Smartphone Ownership, by Operating System (Leisure Travelers)

Mobile Phone Type Owned by Business Travelers

Smartphone Ownership (Personal), by Operating System (Business Travelers)

Smartphone Ownership (Company Supplied), by Operating System (Business Travelers)

Internet Usage via Mobile Phone

Frequent Mobile Internet Usage (Daily), by Smartphone Operating System

Settings for Accessing Mobile Internet (Leisure Travelers)

Settings for Accessing Mobile Internet (Business Travelers)

Online Activities Conducted via Mobile Phone

Comfort With General Mobile Activity, Leisure Travelers

Travel Research via Mobile Phone, by Medium

Purchasing/Booking via Mobile Phone, by Medium

Post-Purchase Activities via Mobile Phone, by Medium

Average Number of Travel-Related Mobile Activities (Annually), by Operating System

Website/App Usage on Mobile Phone

Factors Influencing Mobile Application Usage

Future Interest in Mobile Internet Capabilities

Mobile Planning/Booking

Air-Related Mobile Activities

Timing of Mobile Travel Activities, Airline Tickets

Hotel-Related Mobile Activities

Timing of Mobile Travel Activities, Hotels

Car Rental-Related Mobile Activities

Timing of Mobile Travel Activities, Car Rentals

Local Activity-Related Mobile Activities

Timing of Mobile Travel Activities, Local Activities

Travel-Related Websites/Apps Used on Mobile Phone

Annual Household Leisure Travel Spend, by Tech Segment (Leisure Travelers)

Annual Business Travel Spend, by Tech Segment (Business Travelers)

Frustrations With Mobile Internet (Website/App), Leisure Travelers

Age and Gender

Household Income and Education

Household Size and Number of Children in Household

Methodology

PhoCusWright's Mobile Hits the Mainstream incorporates several consumer research elements, including both quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative research phase consisted of two separate surveys which were fielded through Global Market Insite, Inc. The leisure travel survey was fielded August 16-22, 2011, targeting the general U.S. population that travels for leisure and plans travel online. The business travel survey was fielded September 2-10, 2011, targeting the general U.S. population that travels for business. As the primary purpose of this study is to understand mobile Internet usage as it relates to travel, a substantial portion of both the leisure and business surveys was targeted specifically to mobile Internet users. Therefore, Section 4: Travel-Related Mobile Internet Usage, summarizes results from just the leisure and business travelers who use the mobile Web.

Respondents who qualified for participation in the leisure component of the study are referred to in this report as "leisure travelers," and were required to:


  • Have taken at least one leisure trip 75 milesor more from home in the past 12 months that included paid lodging and/or air travel

  • Have used the Internet to select a destination, compare and choose leisure travel products, book travel, or share travel experiences online in the past 12 months

  • Have played an active role in planning their leisure trips in the past 12 months


To qualify as a business traveler, respondents were required to:

  • Have taken at least one business trip in the past 12 months that included a flight and/or paid lodging


In addition, business travelers who were not governed by a company travel policy (unmanaged business travelers) were required to have played an active role in planning their business trips within the past 12 months.

For the leisure and business travel surveys, PhoCusWright received 1,948 and 2,053 qualified responses, respectively. The respondent pool can be projected with confidence onto both the U.S. online leisure traveler and business traveler populations. The error interval for analysis is +/-2.3% (leisure travelers) and +/-2.2% (business travelers) at a 95% confidence level.

For the qualitative research phase, six focus group sessions were conducted August 15-19, 2011 in New Jersey, Illinois and California. Two sessions were conducted in each city, one with respondents below the age of 35 and another with respondents 35 and older. At least half of the participants in each session fell into one or more of the following categories:

  • Frequent travelers who have taken five or more leisure trips within the past 12 months
  • Business travelers who have taken at least one business trip within the past 12 months
  • Members of affluent households (combined annual household income of US$150,000 or higher)