As we hurtle into 2020, so to does technology, its capabilities, and the way we use it to spend our money.
Last time we looked into our device trends to see who was browsing and spending where, we saw that for the first time ever, mobile revenue overtook desktop revenue. This was exciting, yet hardly surprising, given the global context. With an estimated 10 billion mobile connected devices currently in use, the ‘rise in mobile’ has been talked about for so long, alongside endless arguments for why you need to put mobile first.
In line with what we’ve been seeing over the last decade, the latest numbers from Q4 2019 show yet another increase in mobile revenue (2% increase, bringing it up to 47%). What’s more, 1 in 2 transactions are now done through mobile!
Wolfgang Digital’s KPI report for 2020 further proves mobile’s progression and strength when it comes to revenue and, more obviously, traffic. Data they’ve pulled shows mobile revenue for hotels coming in at 25%, while their mobile traffic comes in at 56%. Good to see how high our mobile revenue stats are coming in with this bit of context!
Desktop is far from dead however, as we saw it gain 2% in revenue this quarter, bringing it up to 46% (note, it’s still behind mobile).
Although mobile revenue is steadily increasing, the bigger purchases are still more likely to be done on desktop. Average transaction value on mobile is 19% lower than desktop.
Also corresponding to what we have seen in recent years, the tablet has continued its fall, and for the first time ever, has actually fallen below the 10% mark in regards to revenue and transactions (both are down at 7%). Both mobile and desktop have reaped the benefits of this fall!
Here are the latest results in full:
- For the first time ever, tablet revenue and transaction % fell below the 10% mark, with revenue share down 4% to 7%, and transaction share down 3% to 7%
- Mobile Website Traffic (Visits) increased by 1% to 67%, with gains from tablet
- Desktop Website Traffic (Visits) increased by 1% to 27%, also gained from tablet
- Mobile Revenue picked up 2% in Q4, coming in at 47%. Desktop also gained 2% and is now up to 46%
- Mobile transactions are at 52% for Q4, which means we have exceeded the 50% mark for the first time ever
- Average Transaction Value on mobile remains lower than on desktop, at a variance of 19%
So, we’ve said it plenty of times… but we’ll say it again for luck! It is hugely important for your property to have a website that’s fully optimised for mobile in 2020 and beyond. Your booking engine needs to be fully optimised for mobile too! 2020 won’t be the year to overlook desktop, but putting as much thought into mobile is no longer a maybe – it will continue to be a necessity.
