Total Online Travel Spending Up 9 Percent to $103 Billion, Led by Air Travel
Southwest, Expedia and Marriott Led Respective Travel Sub-Categories in 2012 Web Page Views
RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released its Full Year and Q4 2012 U.S. travel e-commerce sales estimates. For the full 2012 year, U.S. travel e-commerce sales reached $103 billion, an increase of 9 percent versus the prior year. Air Travel accounted for nearly two-thirds of all travel spending while growing 10 percent vs. year ago.
| 2012 Travel Spending by Sub-Category Full Year 2012 vs. Full Year 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Computers Source: comScore E-Commerce Measurement |
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| Spending ($ Millions) | Share of Travel Spending | Y/Y % Chg | |
| Total Travel E-Commerce | $102,951 | 100% | 9% |
| Air Travel | $66,529 | 65% | 10% |
| Hotel Reservations | $19,384 | 19% | 7% |
| Car Rental | $9,698 | 9% | 6% |
| Travel Packages | $5,140 | 5% | 10% |
| Other Travel | $2,200 | 2% | 10% |
“Travel is a leading online commerce category, and despite being a pioneer in the sector 15 years ago it is still growing at nearly double-digit growth rates and remains very competitive,” said John Mangano, VP of comScore Marketing Solutions for Retail and Travel. “With the online channel driving such a high percentage of dollars within the broader travel industry, understanding the competitive landscape is essential to determining the most effective sales and marketing strategies.”
Top Airline Sites in 2012
Once again, Southwest Airlines led all airline sites in 2012 with 20 percent of category page views, up slightly from the prior year. Delta Airlines ranked second at 15.5 percent of page views, followed by United Airlines at 14.7 percent (up 4.9 percentage points), American Airlines at 13.2 percent and US Airways at 3.4 percent.
| Top Airline Properties by Share of Page Views Full Year 2012 vs. Full Year 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Computers Source: comScore MMX |
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| Share (%) of Category Page Views | ||||
| 2011 | 2012 | Pt Chg | ||
| Travel Category – Airlines | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0 | |
| 1 | Southwest Airlines Co. | 19.8% | 20.0% | 0.2 |
| 2 | Delta Airlines | 15.9% | 15.5% | -0.4 |
| 3 | United Airlines* | 9.8% | 14.7% | 4.9 |
| 4 | American Airlines | 13.8% | 13.2% | -0.6 |
| 5 | US Airways Group, Inc. | 3.4% | 3.4% | 0.0 |
| 6 | Continental Airlines Sites* | 6.4% | 2.7% | -3.7 |
| 7 | JetBlue Airways | 2.6% | 2.5% | -0.1 |
| 8 | Alaska Airlines.com | 3.1% | 2.5% | -0.6 |
| 9 | Allegiant Air.com | 2.6% | 2.1% | -0.6 |
| 10 | AirTran Airways | 2.6% | 2.0% | -0.6 |
*Continental Airlines began re-directing traffic to United Airlines in early 2012, accounting for much of the gains at United Airlines and much of the declines at Continental over the past year.
Top Online Travel Agent Sites in 2012
Expedia Inc. (which includes Hotwire) ranked as the top property in the Online Travel Agents category with 31.6 percent of all category page views, followed by Priceline.com Inc. (17.3 percent) and Orbitz Worldwide (12.9 percent). Fareportal Media Group, which includes CheapoAir, ranked fourth at 9.2 percent, while Travelocity rounded out the top five at 7.6 percent. Recent 2012 IPO Kayak.com was one of the biggest share gainers in the category, jumping 2.2 percentage points to 6.9 percent share of all page views.
| Top Online Travel Agent Properties by Share of Page Views Full Year 2012 vs. Full Year 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Computers Source: comScore MMX |
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| Share (%) of Category Page Views | ||||
| 2011 | 2012 | Pt Chg | ||
| Travel Category – Online Travel Agents | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0 | |
| 1 | Expedia Inc | 37.6% | 31.6% | -6.0 |
| 2 | Priceline.com Inc | 15.7% | 17.3% | 1.6 |
| 3 | Orbitz Worldwide | 12.9% | 12.9% | -0.1 |
| 4 | Fareportal Media Group | 8.5% | 9.2% | 0.7 |
| 5 | Travelocity | 10.0% | 7.6% | -2.4 |
| 6 | Kayak.com Network | 4.7% | 6.9% | 2.2 |
| 7 | BookingBuddy Sites | 0.0% | 2.3% | 2.3 |
| 8 | CheapCaribbean.com | 1.0% | 1.4% | 0.5 |
| 9 | BookIt.com | 0.9% | 1.1% | 0.1 |
| 10 | AppleVacations.com | 0.7% | 0.6% | -0.1 |
Top Hotel & Resort Sites in 2012
Marriott led the Hotels & Resorts category in 2012 with 11.7 percent of all category page views, roughly on par with its share in 2011. InterContinental Hotels Group ranked second with 7.9 percent share (up 3.5 points), followed by Wyndham Worldwide at 7.5 percent. Hilton Hotels (7.0 percent) and VRBO.com (6.5 percent) rounded out the top five.
| Top Hotel & Resort Properties by Share of Page Views Full Year 2012 vs. Full Year 2011 Total U.S. – Home & Work Computers Source: comScore MMX |
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| Share (%) of Category Page Views | ||||
| 2011 | 2012 | Pt Chg | ||
| Travel Category – Hotels/Resorts | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0 | |
| 1 | Marriott | 11.8% | 11.7% | -0.1 |
| 2 | InterContinental Hotels Group | 4.4% | 7.9% | 3.5 |
| 3 | Wyndham Worldwide | 7.9% | 7.5% | -0.4 |
| 4 | Hilton Hotels | 9.0% | 7.0% | -2.0 |
| 5 | VRBO.com | 3.2% | 6.5% | 3.3 |
| 6 | Disney Parks & Travel | 6.0% | 5.7% | -0.3 |
| 7 | Choice Hotels International | 8.0% | 5.4% | -2.6 |
| 8 | TotalRewards.com | 2.6% | 3.3% | 0.6 |
| 9 | Expedia Hotels | N/A | 3.1% | N/A |
| 10 | BestWestern Hotels | 2.7% | 2.8% | 0.2 |
“Interestingly, not all sites are equally effective in turning page views into transactions,” added Mangano. “In some instances we see that sites require greater engagement to get to a booking, while others serve more as a venue for comparison pricing but lose out on the sale as their visitors go to other sites to book. So while winning the traffic battle is an important part of customer acquisition, travel companies who optimize their strategies at other phases of the funnel are the ones who ultimately drive the greatest conversion.”
About comScore Online Travel Solutions
Those interested in learning more about comScore Online Travel Solutions, including detailed competitive intelligence on online site visitation, consumer demographics & behaviors, and sales conversion, please contact John Mangano atjmangano@comscore.com.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
