We saw a fluffy piece here that's a bit of a backhanded compliment to the on-line travel industry. Apparently, there is an "American Consumer Satisfaction Index". This index suggests that, in general, consumers were less satisfied with e-commerce last year. E-commerce satisfaction dropped from 82 to 80 (out of 100). However, satisfaction with the travel segment of e-commerce did NOT decline.
More specifically:
"Expedia (+2.7) and the All Others category (-2.5 percent) tie for first at 77. Travelocity comes in second place (+2.7 percent to 75) followed by Orbitz (+1.4 percent to 74). Priceline.com falls one percent to 72"
We're not surprised to see Priceline lagging in this index, as their opaque model is a bit more vulnerable to lingering ill will if the consumer has a bad travel experience. In related news, Priceline reported 4Q revenue up 21% last night after the bell. So I guess we'll believe the consumers voting with their wallets rather than those voting in the "index". Even if you were burned by a bad opaque buy, if price is your main driver, you're probably going to go back to their well time and again.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment