Increasing how much clients spend and ensuring they come back for their next getaway is a primary goal for many travel firms. And after a turbulent few years the post-pandemic outlook for the travel industry is positive, with buoyant sales results proving consumers don’t want to lose their much-needed break.
But average booking values are increasing, and the cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze household budgets. Holidays are a large and often infrequent financial outlay, so offering the right payment options for your business and customers is more important than ever. They not only make a dream holiday more affordable, but can help you build customer loyalty.
Payment provider Tymit surveyed 250 travel merchants across the UK and Europe, alongside more than 2,500 online consumers, asking them about their payment priorities, pain points and preferences. They discovered three ways travel businesses can take back control and keep consumers coming back for more. Read on to discover the findings.
1. Benefit from customer data
Using existing transactional data, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of customers’ habits and preferences. What are they booking, and when? From this research you can segment your audience and target your marketing efforts to help drive customer engagement and consumer loyalty, ensuring you offer personalised customer service and experiences.
While transactional data has huge benefits, Tymit’s research found travel merchants often struggle to access customer payment data and insight. More than half said control over customer relationships and customer data is a key priority.
2. Embrace flexible payments
Instalment-based purchases are growing in popularity, and 10 million people in the UK across a range of demographics used a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service in 2021. More than a third (35%) of the travel merchants who took part in Tymit’s research already offer BNPL, and 90% said they know they should offer some form of instalment-based payment option.
However, many said they have mixed feelings about BNPL, and a large number of those who don’t offer it are put off by the high fees. Nearly half (45%) said they’ve already had to raise prices to cover transaction fees in the last two years. Plus, some respondents said they felt the BNPL model is too complicated, couldn’t be trusted and left little room for customisation. Many also cited ethical concerns, with 76% saying they didn’t know how to responsibly promote or manage BNPL.
If travel merchants want to give consumers the payment options they desire, Tymit suggests they should consider instalment-based payments. And if they want to offer a more ethical and data-rich solution, they should think beyond BNPL too.
3. Think brand
The majority of travel merchants liked the idea of offering a flexible instalment credit solution, specifically one under their brand name. They felt it was likely to increase customer spend, reduce purchase abandonment rates, give access to more payment or customer data and insights, and attract new customers looking for a flexible and fair payment option.
Done correctly, providing a payment solution under your brand name can be an effective way to build trust with your customer. Nearly a third of Tymit’s consumer respondents said if a brand offered a flexible instalment credit solution under its own name, they would feel the brand was more socially responsible and cared about the financial wellbeing of its customers. A similar number said they would be loyal to that brand and would be likely to talk more positively to others about the brand.
But when it comes to BNPL, brand can be an issue. Tymit found 76% of travel merchants said BNPL can elevate the lender’s brand rather than the merchant’s, and 85% said they don’t like the fact BNPL necessitates a loss of control of their customer base.
Both these issues underline the need for merchants to take ownership of the payments experience by choosing a payments partner they can trust.
Own it with Tymit
Tymit’s research found that 94% of travel merchants and 88% of consumers believe customers need and deserve fairer payment options. If you’re looking to evolve your payment offerings and customer experience, Tymit can help.
Regulated by the FCA and registered with the Payments Service Regulator (PSR), Tymit is a next-generation instalment payment provider, enabled with Visa. Its proposition goes beyond just providing payment technology, as the team are specialists in crafting tailored instalment programmes. When you partner with Tymit you can create unique instalment plans that engage customers under your brand, enhance basket sizes and boost sales conversion. These plans can help prevent consumers abandoning their booking at the last moment, give access to insightful customer data and help you attract new customers.
Tymit prides itself on offering freedom and fairness in payments, while being flexible and transparent. Its end-to-end services include open-loop on credit card rails, closed-loop on its own system, or a hybrid of both – backed by a robust platform complete with APIs. Tymit also delivers innovative instalment credit solutions offering responsible lending, transparency, and complete control for both partners and customers. There are no merchant fees or processing fees, and it can be set up in minutes, offering 0% interest over three months, with longer instalments of up to 36 months available.
If you’re ready to start owning your payments experience, watch Tymit’s webinar below.
