People who travel more on business are much more likely to use an app to make their booking, according to research released this week.
Travel management company CWT looked into the app usage habits of frequent travellers and found that those who travel more than five times a year are 13% more likely to book on their smartphone.
"The more you travel, the more you use your smartphone, and that includes booking your flights directly through an app," said Amit Wurgaft, CWT's chief experience officer, digital. "Booking on your mobile device requires a level of confidence, born from experience."
The research also found that travellers are more likely to book on mobile when they have previously visited the destination.
Smartphones are much more likely to be used the closer the traveller is to departure. The study found that 62% of mobile bookings are done between one day and one week prior to departure, but only 28% of computer bookings are done during that time.
Source: CWT
The survey included 594 business travellers who work at companies with more than 1,000 employees and with a travel policy and specific booking tools. Respondents were from Australia, Canada, France, the UK and the US and have travelled for business at least once in the previous 12 months.
Apps are the natural channel for those who rely on their smartphone and it comes as little surprise that frequent travellers want to use them. It has taken considerable time for business travel apps to start to match the experience of apps in the consumer sphere. These figures show that this will have to change.