Okay, okay. We get it. Message received. Consumers spend more and more time on tablets and smartphones, and travel companies need to do a better job of reaching consumers on mobile devices.
But not all consumers are embracing digital devices in the same way. Businesses may want to fine-tune their mobile strategies depending on the demographics they’re trying to reach.
Should you prioritise apps or native mobile optimised sites? Should you assume your content will be viewed on tablets or smartphones?
Helping to answer questions like those, marketers are starting to slice-and-dice the data to give businesses a better picture of where and how consumers are using their smartphones and tablets.
Case in point: A new YouGov survey, paid for by Tealeaf, a software company owned by IBM that monitors buyers’ online behaviour, surveyed about 2,000 Americans and 2,000 Britons in September, and results were projected onto the population as a whole using statistical models.
Here are five takeouts from the report that caught our eye:
1) Travel research shows the most fragmentation in mobile usage
While the 25 to 34 age range in the US tops the list of those going to a physical travel agent, respondents from this demographic are also least likely to look at a physical brochure.
Meanwhile, 35 to 44 year olds in the US are most likely to use smartphones or tablets for vacation  research.
Similarly, while the 35 to 44 age group in the US is second least likely to venture offline,  respondents here are most likely to use smartphones or tablets.
The use of tablets in  general is high amongst this age range and, with jobs and childcare to juggle, one reason
for this could be the convenience factor of shopping online via mobile devices.
2) Smartphone usage skews younger and iPad usage skews older.
“Tablets in general are used most amongst the three middle age ranges, peaking amongst 35- to 44-year-olds The iPad sees the largest weekly  usage amongst 35-to 44-year-olds in both the US (15%) and the UK (21%).”
3) Web surfing behaviour and Web booking behaviour differs
“For travel bookings, the use of a tablet for making purchases through a website (8% US Â and 5% UK) is more popular than a smartphone (5% US and 3% UK).”
4) Mobile-optimised websites are still used more than apps
In the UK and US, mobile sites are used more than mobile apps for travel research and booking. But that may be a bit of a Catch-22, as the lack of apps and promotion of apps may mean that consumers aren’t yet educated about them.
5) Use of laptops and desktops beat all other options for actual purchases.
Said another way, smartphones are used for research far more than to make bookings. Ditto, tablets.
Anyone can access the’The Digital Consumer’ report at a microsite, which lets users segmented by age group and gender and country.
If you do nothing else with the information in this post, do this: Make sure your site has a “responsive design,” meaning that it has a usable and compelling experience regardless of the device your site is being viewed with.
NB:Â Tnooz has a Tealeaf webinar on mobile on 8 November. Register online.
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About Sean O'Neill
These stats make interesting reading, and show just how important a mobile strategy is for those selling leisure travel. I wrote an article about this in Sept (see http://www.rwa-net.co.uk/why-travel-companies-need-a-strategy-for-mobile-now/) and one of they key issues is whether to go for a mobile web site, a set of apps, or both. In the end, I think you need both: The web site for being found on Google and subsequent selling via mobile platforms, and then an app for effective customer service whilst on the move.
Rob Wortham, RWA