The UK Online—How Many Are Clicking and What Are They Clicking When it Comes to Travel?

From the results of a couple of just-released reports, it is safe to say that consumers in the UK are connected—the increase has been dramatic, in fact, over the past decade—and millions of consumers are going online to research and book travel.

First, the overview from data released by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS):

• The Internet was accessed every day, or almost every day, by 78 percent of adults (39.3 million) in Great Britain in 2015, compared with 35 percent (16.2 million) in 2006, when directly comparable records began.
• Almost all adults aged 16 to 24 (96 percent) accessed the Internet “on the go”, compared with only 29 percent of those aged 65 years and over.
• Social networking was used by 61percent of adults, and of those, 79 percent did so every day or almost every day.
• In 2015, 76 percent of adults bought goods or services online, up from 53% in 2008. “Clothes or sports goods” were purchased by 55 percent of adults, making them the most popular online purchase.
• In the last 3 months, 22 percent of adults purchased online once or twice, while 28 percent of adults purchased 11 or more times. Online purchases totaling £100 to £499 ($155-$774) were made by 42 percent of adults who had bought online in the last 3 months.
• In 2015 86 percent of households in Great Britain (22.5 million) had internet access, up from 57 percent in 2006.

To see the more than two dozen tables that serve as the basis for the above, visit:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-373604

Next, from Greenlight the London-based research firm that specializes in consumer behavior, is the latest report on consumers and the online holidays sector. The report—based on survey research from April 2015—analyzes which websites, advertisers and brands were most visible in the Google UK natural search and paid media listings, when consumers searched for holidays-related terms. In the analysis, Greenlight established that:

• The search term “cheap holidays” was queried 550,000 times, accounting for 10 percent of all searches made for the sector.
• Queries for generic-related keywords accounted for 48 percent of all searches made for the sector.
• In April, 5.3 million searches were made by consumers searching for Holidays-related terms on Google UK.

The most visible websites and advertisers on Google UK: Travelsupermarket.com was the most visible website in the natural search listings, achieving a 70 percent share of voice; onthebeach.co.uk was the most visible advertiser in the paid media space, achieving a 5 percent share of voice; and thomascook.com ranked at the top of our integrated search league table, as it achieved a dominant share of voice in the natural search and paid media listings.

Percentage Breakdown of Searches

Natural Searches—Holidays Overall: In April 2015, 5.3 million searches were made by consumers searching for Holidays-related keywords. The league table below shows which websites were most visible in the Natural Search listings on Google UK for the 4,794 keywords analyzed.

The Most Visible Websites: Travelsupermarket.com was the most visible website, achieving a 70 percent share of voice through ranking for 1,982 keywords, including the search terms “florida holidays” and “holiday comparison site.” Meanwhile, thomascook.com attained a 66 percent share of voice through ranking for 1,596 keywords, including the search terms “package holidays” and “cuba holidays.”

The 20 Most Visible Websites

Natural Searches—Holidays, Long-haul Destinations: In April 2015, 1 million searches were made by consumers searching for long-haul destinations-related keywords. The league table below shows which websites were most visible in the Natural Search listings on Google UK for the 1,039 keywords analyzed.

Top Ten Search Terms

The 20 Most Visible Websites