Travel Industry Apps Lag Substantially Behind Credit Card and Banking Apps, J.D. Power Finds

COSTA MESA, Calif., March 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A traveler hits unexpected traffic on the way to the airport and isn't quite sure where to return the rental car. In the terminal, there's a huge line at check-in and uncertainty about the departure gate number because the mobile app on the traveler's smartphone won't load. Sound familiar?

This is the modern-day proving ground for traveler satisfaction. As travel apps rapidly replace everything from boarding passes to car rental and hotel room keys, many such apps are falling short of user expectations, according to the J.D. Power Inaugural U.S. Travel App Satisfaction Study,(SM )released today.

The study evaluates satisfaction with travel apps across four segments: airline; hotel; online travel agency (OTA); and rental car. It explores the key variables that influence customer choice, satisfaction and loyalty based on four factors: clarity of information provided; ease of navigation; overall appearance, speed of screens loading; and range of services/activities.

"Travel apps have come a long way," said Michael Taylor, Travel Intelligence Lead at J.D. Power. "While some travel apps are delivering on their promise, others are missing the mark at critical moments of truth that can significantly influence traveler perception of brands and services. We see big swings in scores among travel apps when users evaluate searching and booking functions."

Following are key findings of the study:

    --  Travel apps lag far behind customer financial apps in overall
        satisfaction: The average overall satisfaction score for Hotel, OTA and
        Rental Car apps is 849 (on a 1,000-point scale). Airline apps score
        lower (840). By contrast, overall user satisfaction scores for credit
        card apps (874) and retail banking apps (867) are substantially higher.
        Both credit card and banking apps also have considerably higher levels
        of utilization.


    --  Day-of-travel performance is critical to travel app satisfaction: Across
        all segments of travel apps, the key performance indicator (KPI) with
        the most influence on overall satisfaction is ease of use during travel.
        Hotel apps that users cite as "easy to use" score 130 points higher in
        overall satisfaction compared with apps that are perceived as more
        difficult to use. Among airline apps, that gap is 125 points. However,
        just 58% of hotel apps and 62% of airline apps currently achieve these
        levels.


    --  Rental car apps have lowest rate of adoption in travel industry: Among
        app users that indicated they have a travel app already downloaded on
        their smartphone, airline apps lead the industry in customer adoption
        rate at 90%. They are followed by hotel apps (84%); OTA apps (78%); and
        rental car apps (59%).
    --  Weak point for airline apps: Airline apps have the highest levels of
        customer utilization of critical features during the day of travel, but
        the lowest performance in the industry when it comes to speed of screens
        loading during travel. OTAs perform best on this metric, with an average
        page load speed satisfaction score of 856. The average score for airline
        apps is 824.

The J.D. Power Inaugural U.S. Travel App Satisfaction Study is based on more than 12,000 evaluations from users of airline, hotel, OTA and rental car apps, and was fielded from December 2018 through January 2019. Following this preview study, the annual U.S. Travel App Satisfaction Study will commence publication in November 2019.

Study Rankings

JetBlue ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among airline apps with a score of 864, followed by Southwest (861) and Alaska Airlines (849).

World of Hyatt ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among hotel apps with a score of 867, followed by IHG (855) and Hilton Honors (853).

Orbitz ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among OTA apps with a score of 866, followed by Priceline (859) and Expedia (847).

National ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among rental car apps with a score of 860, followed by Enterprise Car Rental (854) and Hertz (844).

For more information about the Inaugural U.S. Travel App Satisfaction Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/resource/jd-power-2019-us-travel-app-satisfaction-study.

See the online press release at http://www.jdpower.com/pr-id/2019051.

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power has offices serving North America, South America, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Media Relations Contacts
Geno Effler, J.D. Power; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com
John Roderick; St. James, N.Y.; 631-584-2200; john@jroderick.com

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/travel-industry-apps-lag-substantially-behind-credit-card-and-banking-apps-jd-power-finds-300819347.html

SOURCE J.D. Power