Tactics Expedia uses to convert visitors into customers
This is a multipart series where I look at how the existing travel sites use different tacts and messages to force a user to book as fast as possible. I will add the link to the next parts as soon as they are published.
Part 1 was where I covered Booking.com and their messaging around hotels. It can be found here.
In the last part, we talked about how Booking.com has a search flow which takes its visitors on a roller coaster ride, making them anxious, creating a sense of urgency, yet reassuring them that they are making the right choice.
This week, it is Expedia. This article took me more time than I expected since Expedia is a well oiled machine and understand the various channels its visitors come from better than anyone else. In fact, they have a different landing page layout and different messaging for users depending on the channels.
Case Study #2: How Expedia pushes the visitors towards faster conversions. (For flights)
Expedia was, once upon a time, my go to website for flight booking. In fact, it is one of the few websites I ever created an account. Willingly. (You will soon find out why). The experience of searching and booking flights on Expedia varies based on where you start your search. That is you land on different pages, if you go to the site directly, or through a paid channel, or Google organic search, or social media.
As before, let’s take a simple case study: I am looking to go to Barcelona for Feb 17–23. Just me on a solo trip.
Expedia’s landing pages were designed for smooth processes, but still persuaded me to book flights (and pushed me to combine with hotels) 3 months before the date of journey. Sounds familiar? Yeah, just like Booking did, though not to the same extent.
NB: Expedia has different landing pages and layouts for the visitors coming from different channels. Let me cover each case one by one: Direct, Organic, PPC, Social Media
Case 1: When I directly land on the Expedia website.
The Homepage:
This is what you would expect. A typical homepage, with clearly noticeable CTAs, like the ‘Search’(#1) button. What I like about this is the top pane for easy navigation to get to what you are looking for. Then a subpane(?) with the same titles but extra icons. So, you can’t miss it in any case. Also, the nicely worded ‘Bundle and Save’(#2) which tells me I should go for a combined deal instead of just looking at flights or hotels. The text ‘Save up to $583’(#3) pushes me towards doing that as well. This layout also makes me think finding hotels and flights together would be easy (#4) and that is what I should do, even though it is not. (will cover in next few articles.)
The two lines at the bottom ‘Search over a million flights, hotels, packages, and more’(#5) and ‘No Expedia Cancellation fee’(#6) conveys the value proposition quite well. On top, it also shows that I am logged in, which I am not, though not many people notice that.
All set to make a search now. For the purpose of this exercise, I only went for Flights and clicked on it.
Notice the options for ‘Add a Hotel’(#7) and ‘Add a Car’(#8). All booking sites make more money on ancillary services than commissions on flights so they are bound to push for bundle those things in your purchase. Time to make a search now.
I like the fact that it gives me options for nearby airports with the distance to them. Like LaGuardia is just 10 miles away(#9). Also interesting is that the option to book for multiple travelers still exist, which is kind of done away by other sites, which just ask for passengers while booking and not while search.
The moment I click on flights in the subpanel, the banner below changes to ‘Add On Advantage’(#10) with 43% off select hotels. As I said earlier, OTAs have more profits on hotels and other bundled deals, so they really push customers towards them. It is also profitable for visitors since it almost always costs less overall.
The Search Page:
To start with, it opens up a popup(#11) in a separate window. Another curious aspect is why so many ads on the website? Looks poor, and turns me slightly off.
Still a few things on the first cursory glance. The ‘Heart icon’(#12) is there to just ply on my curiosity. Just a fancier way to save the search. But I did not login yet, so how can it. Well, Expedia will save it, and you can access it in the local sessions.
Before you look at any result, you see this snippet: ‘Save $265 on average’(#13). This is another pitch to combine flights and hotels. Higher ticket size, and higher margins. (Of course, hotels have higher profits).
If you scroll down a little bit, you see this. ‘1,395 people are shopping for flights to BCN’(#14). 1395 is such a random number that it adds more social proof than something like 1400+ or 1000+. Again, just to add urgency, but no fancy colors, just to keep it subtle. The way it appears is between search results, so you can’t really miss it.
Then, there is a pitch for booking a cab, with message as ‘Save $101’(#15). I am not too sure how effective this is. but most users now a days opt for Uber than a pre booked cab.
Analyzing the search result though:
This is what you see before details. ‘Excellent Flight”(#16) in green assures me it is a good choice. Then the three symbols ‘Wifi’, ‘Video’ , ‘Charger’ (#17, #18, #19), does a good job of telling me what the flight offers. The price is of ‘RoundTrip’(#20), while I am only selecting the first leg as of now. Of course an estimate, but still a good push. ‘4 left at $484’ (#21) is in red for some results, to create the urgency, but show authenticity, by not doing it on all the results. When I click on details:
Expedia allows you to see what seats are available(#22). I clicked on just to verify the 4 seats left part. In the details you also see ‘Free Cancellation’(#23), and bag fees(#24) not included in the fare, and estimated. Not even confirmed. For the curious, this is how seat preview looks like.
Seems like more than four are available. In the same section. And who likes the two seats in the middle in row 25. You guys are my heroes.
Also, by the way, the ‘My Lists’ part on top has a ‘1’ in red (#25) next to it. Your search has already been saved. You did not login? It is another push for you to signup/login.
Anyways, so I select the first flight, and go on to choose the return flight. Similar layout, with the price on top.
As expected, the cheapest flight is rated as ‘Poor Flight’(#26). I think it is a combination of arrival day on Sunday(flight on Sat), so I changed it to Monday(flight on Sun) to see the difference. But, look what I got on the top.
‘100% off your flight’(#27). These are algos realizing my serious intent to book, and working hard for me to convert by offering bundles and discounts. This 100% off is only on one leg of the journey, not the entire roundtrip either. Now when I go to select the return flight, it wasn’t that bad but similar results.
And, when I search in a different window, different session, just for the return leg, here is what I find.
The second result in the previous screenshot is same as first on this. This means, the prices are artificially inflated and just there to get more money out of me.
Anyways, coming back, I chose the first result, well because, I wanted to book a roundtrip for this article. And I get this popup.
‘Save $265 on average’(#28) if I were to book a hotel together. Another hotel pitch, with a well highlighted ‘Add Hotel Now’(#29). The average here is misleading too. Sneaky, but it essentially means you won’t get this amount. Could be greater, but is more likely to be less. Also, savings are more contexual as a %age and not actual numbers. (Will do it sometime, and post an analysis). Clicking on ‘No Thanks’(#30) opens in a new window for some reason.
The Trip Summary Page:
Notice the messaging in green. ‘Nice Job! You picked one of our best value flights’(#31) is there to make you feel good, as if you are getting a steal. Then ‘Book now so you don’t miss out on the price’(#32) creates the urgency at the same time. Then again a pitch for hotels, ‘Unlock up to 43%’(#33), with an icon and everything to draw attention to it. The arrival time in Barcelona is next day, so highlighted in red(#34), making you feel Expedia cares for you. Subtly, they also show the kind of flights you chose: ‘Best Value’(#35) and ‘Cheapest’(#36). Another push is the ‘Free Cancellation with 24 hours of booking’(#37) which pushes me towards impulsive buy which I can cancel if I have second thoughts.
Then there is a pretty convincing pitch to get Travel insurance below the fare.
This is actually genius. They have not added, but pushed you towards checking it out on the next page. ‘70232 customers’(#38) and in ‘Last 7 days’(#39), is as good a social proof that you can get. Then ‘Add flight protection when you check out’(#40) makes it sound like Expedia is looking out for the me, the user.
Clicking on ‘Continue Booking’, they went all out on the Bundled Savings Part.
On top, highlighting ‘Your Bundled Savings’ of ‘$0’(#41) , is just plain weird but works. It is another pitch for hotel booking, or a car booking, with a nice graphic with four ‘plus signs with yellow background’($42). Like a good, smart customer though, I ignore that and continue to Checkout.
The Checkout Page:
This is how the checkout page is laid out. I am finally here. After so many persuasions and distractions that I successfully avoided.
A few things to notice at the first glance: “Prices not guaranteed until booked’(#43), ‘Free Cancellation’(#44), ‘Placeholder for Phone number’(#45), ‘Sign In to Book Faster’(#46), Lack of any links on title bar — same as Booking or Amazon (#47). All these create an urgency to book, and ask the customer not to think much. If the plan changes, he can cancel for free in 24 hours. Also interesting is the incentive to sign in, and not sign up.
Coming to the Travel Insurance:
This is a masterclass on how to use social proof. A few points:
- None of the options is selected(#48), pushing the users to make a choice making him feel he is in control. Also, you have to make a choice, else you can’t move forward. So, eventually you will come to this section.
- The copy: ‘Protect your flight’(#49), ‘Top 3 benefits of travel protection’(#50), in red(#51): “Avoid change fees, Protect your trip’(#52), the numbered benefits, each with a nice round number: 100%(#53), $1000 refund(#54), $15,000 (#55) as benefits — making the case well.
- Then the first option with a radio button, in first person(#56), “Yes, I want to add Flight protection plan”(#57), highlighted with a green box(#58), 45,326 customers (#59) the number changed here but does not matter, ‘last seven days’(again, #60), and a price which matches well against the benefits.
- The second, not so favourable option. This is some copy with passive aggressive wording(#61) and phrases like ‘willing to risk’(#62), ‘declining coverage’(#63), ‘I may be responsible for’(#64), and so on.
- Then comes the testimonial(#65). It has been same since years.
Here, Expedia not only uses a testimonial from a real customer, but also gives a use case and an exact value of the monetary benefits from the insurance.
- Notice things like: ‘$468 back’(#66), ‘cancelled her flight’(#67), ‘sick husband’(#68), and then a quote(#69) with her not expecting what she got (true for so many users).
- The use of name(#70) adds a bit extra credibility to the entire pitch for travel insurance.
Even then, if you say no, after so much persuasion, Expedia would not give up.
$37 million worth of trips(#71) tells me nothing except that it is a lot. This is two years ago, so the number would have increased. Maybe I should reconsider. When I say yes:
Contrast the difference in buttons to change(#72) my choice in both scenarios. This ‘Change’ is not even visible or look like a button compared to ‘Reconsider’ in the previous screenshot. Wow. I cant imagine how much effort would have gone into this. That Green Tick (#73)approves of me buying the insurance.
They also push the users by saying how many seats are left at this price. In some cases, not all.
This is well highlighted in red on the right hand side pane.
This is just one aspect. The direct traffic. What changes when a customer comes from a search engine?
Case 2: When I land on the Expedia website through Google search.
Scenario: I am looking for flights to Barcelona, and search for ‘Cheap flights to Barcelona.’ on Google. I am bombarded with ads, and even the organic results are there to help me find the flights to Barcelona.
The page that this link opens up is nothing like the one on default page. Even the URL I land on is not the default one but an extension.
The most important is the price on top, an attempt to get the user to stick around. The user would have gone to several websites, and this price might convince him to give the search a try. Notice the lack of options, icons, and a very well highlighted Orange search button in a dark background. And a sneaky ’85 customers got 100% off their flight’, again an attempt to upsell hotel. Then the value proposition of Expedia, increased from two to three. Also, I already get an indicative price, not from where I am flying out but some arbitrary destination. I think that is for SEO purposes. For the visitors, its the black rectangle on top.
Though if you scroll down, you see some information about Barcelona — airports, places to visit, tips on when to book flights, and why book on Expedia. All this is just designed for Google more than the user so as to rank higher. Then the usual flight + hotel deals etc. Though an interesting bit here:
They have reviews from Verified customers to get you to make a search. They aren’t moderated though. Read the third review from a customer complaining about the legroom.
Planning to do a separate post on the landing pages for Social media traffic and PPC traffic in the coming weeks. And one on hotel booking on Expedia.
To Summarize:
- The overall experience lasted about 10–15 minutes. I felt good about finding the ‘Best Value flight to Barcelona when only 4 seats were left’ and the low of ‘not finding the best return flight for cheap.
- The flight that I booked (or rather proceeded to book) was a non refundable one. However, in the entire experience, that is mentioned at exactly one place. I could not find a refundable flight even if I wanted. In case there are changes to my itinerary, Expedia charges about $210. That too was mentioned at exactly one place while booking.
- The experience is somewhat intrusive. Expedia assumes, quite fairly I think, if I am searching for flight I will book one. So, they try hard to upsell me hotels, cars, and what not. The number of increased steps is overdone in my opinion, but I guess that works for them.
I no longer book from Expedia, because of the above mentioned tactic, for the artificial inflation of round trip fares.
- The entire execution of Flight protection and travel insurance is masterclass. They have worked so much on it and it shows. The messaging, colors, UX on choosing yes and no, the convincing parts and everything is genius.
- They know where they make money, and through clever hooks, drive the user towards those. If a user drops out, they can always re-target them using various channels. Most users are smart enough to not opt for the hooks, and for those who do, they aren’t getting a bad deal either.
- No mention of Visa or immigration rules anywhere.
- One thing I found fishy is how they dont reveal the prices for individual flight or for rountrip combinations, making users choose each one separately. Contrast with Skyscanner, I found this result for the same dates:
For the curious readers, more light on some of the aspects that Expedia uses:
- Three months out is a bit early to book unless you are travelling in festive period. Try apps like Hopper and see if the airfare would increase or decrease. For our case, this is what Hopper says:
- Airlines frequently reduce prices within 2 months of flight date, and should watch out for that.
- Travel insurance should be taken, but choose one which has cover for illnesses during the trip. Illnesses and theft are the two most common and highly expensive mishaps that happen. You can always buy it later, or buy yourself from a different source before the date of journey.
- Bundled deals are good if you are sure the plans won’t change. The ones with 100% off on flight are for highly expensive hotels, and not the regular ones. Again, those bookings are not refundable, and takes a lot of fees to change the itinerary.
- Always read the fine print, and yeah, they will send you emails if you could not complete your reservation.
- Read the baggage policy on the airline website. It is a grey area where a lot of airlines make money. OTAs don’t show you those fees since they don’t have the information either.
About Me: I am an avid traveler always up for new experiences, and currently working on the future of travel. We are building an amazon like experience for travelers, where its possible to have personalized results, more intuitive flow, one click checkout, and making travel booking as easy as buying a product on Amazon. I don’t have a problem with the way these sites operate, but feel like we are always shortchanged in the booking experience.
It should not have to be like this for a user to convert. These things should not create anxiety, instead they should be fun. Or at the very least, they should not be this stressful. These experiences are one of the reasons travel sites lack loyal users.
In the next article, I will outline how our vision for future of travel looks like. Then back to analysis for another site. Any feedback or comment, please let us know.
