Since the first iPhone launched 15 years ago, consumer shopping habits have slowly but relentlessly shifted toward mobile devices. According to a survey of 3,250 U.S. consumers from Pymnts.com, a website dedicated to analyzing the role of payments in new tech, the majority of travel service purchases were made on a mobile device in February 2022.
People are also reading… However, while buying a flight on a phone is more convenient, it could be more costly. "When firms employ a drip pricing strategy, the initial price is almost always lower than a competitor's all-in price," said Shelle Santana, assistant professor of marketing at Bentley University and one of the study's authors, in an email interview."But once they start to add on amenities such as a checked bag, seat options, etc., that difference in price across firms diminishes and sometimes reverses.
Basically, shoppers tend to get to the final checkout screen and grudgingly accept whatever fees have been added on. They assume it will be too much hassle to start over and find another option, even if doing so would save them money. Maybe some fleet-fingered Gen Zers can manage this task on a mobile device. But for many, it's too daunting.
"I almost always shop for travel on a desktop," said Santana."I like to have several tabs open at once and toggle between them to make sure I understand price differences and drivers across firms."This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Sam Kemmis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com.