$5 trillion. That is how much Insider Intelligence estimates worldwide eCommerce sales will be in 2022.
NB: This is an article from Hotelchamp
With an opportunity so large, hotels have to hop on the digital bandwagon of high-performing eCommerce platforms. If you think you don’t fit into this category – you do. As long as you allow for bookings on your website, you are the lucky owner of an eCommerce platform. And the even luckier owner of an immense opportunity for revenue growth.
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To help you stay on track with the changing habits of netizens, we’ve put together the biggest trends that will impact the future of hotel eCommerce.
1. High tech-pectations
Changing habits
Everyday behaviour has shifted dramatically over the last decades. Technology adoption has been especially steep in households all around the globe – and it’s getting even steeper. Harvard Business Review reports that it took decades for the telephone to reach 50% of households, but it took less than 5 years for smartphones to accomplish the same. Now in the US, the number of households using smartphone technology has increased by 46% in under a decade. This means that already by 2019, over 80% of households used smartphones.
People are eager to adopt technology in their normal lives, and this translates to guests expecting the same level of technology when booking a hotel.
Changes in travel behaviour are normal and expected as new lifestyle trends emerge and new technologies arise. Post-pandemic these changes were sped up to an unprecedented level. Take the shift towards booking direct – throughout the pandemic, travellers booking directly via the hotel website increased by over 50%. With this in mind, a mobile-optimised eCommerce presence is no longer just nice to have: it’s the bare minimum for guests.
Tech-pectation
This is where tech-pectation (tech-expectation) comes in. It means that guests expect a certain level of technology from the hotels they book with. With so much control over their life, it’s no wonder they expect the same level of control digitally. They don’t want to download an app because you tell them to – they want to book how they want to, on the device of their choice. Be available everywhere. Don’t make guests search or wait for you. Make sure your eCommerce presence is in its best shape on desktop, mobile and tablet.
You don’t need to go with every tech trend there is. You need to make sure you’re aware of what tech your guests use, and have it both at your venue and online. For instance, have uninterrupted wi-fi for your business guests or remote workers. If you’re targeting Next-Gen travellers, bear in mind that they do everything digitally. You might want to have 24/7 chatbot, a thorough FAQ page and human online customer support.
