Mobile Outlook 2018: Industry forecast

Miami – CellPoint Mobile, a leading provider of sales and payment-side technology solutions for the worldwide travel sector, has released a new industry forecast called “Mobile Outlook 2018: The Future of Global Travel Commerce.” The report offers insight, analysis and recommendations around key areas of travel commerce, including blockchain technology, mobile payments and mobile booking.

“Mobile commerce is fundamentally changing how business is done, especially in the travel sector,” said Kristian Gjerding, CEO of CellPoint Mobile. “Travel suppliers are integrating mobile commerce into every transaction from the beginning to end of a passenger’s journey, creating significant opportunities for additional revenue and increased brand loyalty.”

Key areas covered in the Mobile Outlook 2018 report include:

  • How the long-envisioned “mobile journey” is being realized, and why the growth in ancillary sales is leading travel operators to question their ecommerce strategies
  • How will hospitality operators adapt as two different business areas converge: the mobile user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX)?
  • Rail operators are looking to expand and increase their share of the travel market, but how will they sell a new generation of travelers on the convenience, comfort and economy of rail in a mobile environment?
  • For ferries and other passenger transportation operators, are mobile solutions a “game changer” for ticketing and fare payment?
  • The popularity of blockchain technology is due to its far-reaching potential across all industries, but particularly in the travel sector. Blockchain technology could help airlines and other travel merchants create a secure passenger ID, which would enable better management of loyalty banks and other customer profile data across all merchants and transactions, eliminating problems resulting from fragmented or solid data.
  • Four of the five fastest-growing travel markets are in Asia-Pacific (China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam), but travel is also growing exponentially in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. These regions also have growing populations of mobile-first smartphone users who want to be catered to by travel merchants.

Mobile Commerce and Global Digital Travel 

The Mobile Outlook 2018 looks at the key challenges and opportunities for mobile commerce across all major travel sectors and regions. As CellPoint Mobile notes in the report, digital travel worldwide will increase by 10.4% in 2018 to reach $676B in sales, climbing to $855B by 2021. In the US, mobile devices already account for 40% of digital travel sales.

“Despite the popularity and need for mobile capabilities, many travel suppliers still lack mobile-first solutions,” said Gjerding. “If travel suppliers hope to convert more mobile users into higher revenue, they will need mobile solutions that make the path to purchase seamless, frictionless, and tightly integrated into the overall journey.”