With its tablet traffic rising by 160% over the last 12 months,AsiaWebDirect.com has launched what it says is the first tablet-optimised experience in online travel for the browser.
Said Matthew Varley, executive general manager-Asia for the Wotif Group, “A lot of people have done the app experiences (iPad & Android apps), but we have worked out a way to make the in browser tablet experience forAsiaWebDirect.com inspirational and more enjoyable for our users.”
He said that tablet traffic was now contributing 12% of overall traffic. “Everyone is talking mobile, but what about tablets? The potential for innovating on the tablet experience instead of just accepting that the desktop version “will do” is enormous.”
The site works in a similar way to a magazine, using the natural commands of “swipe” on the iPad to proceed to the next page. “It’s great for those tablet users who are lounging in front of the TV and booking their next Asian vacation,” said Varley.
On purchase behaviour across devices, he said that on AsiaWebDirect.com, it was seeing a 15% higher average transaction value on tablets than on desktop and 30% higher transaction value on tablets vs mobile devices.
“Interestingly, we are seeing a 20% higher transaction value on Apple devices compared to Samsung devices (Samsung is our second highest mobile/tablet device by traffic).”
He said he was also pleased with the AsiaWebDirect.com app downloads in the first month. “The user experience that we can deliver with native applications is much better than through the browser, but our long term strategy is to cover both the browser and applications market for mobile & tablets.
“Whilst we have initially launched an iPhone application, we will roll out applications for Android (mobile) and iPad in the coming 12 months for AsiaWebDirect.com. The tablet allows us to innovate in a completely different way to mobile & desktop, with the increased screen size and touch gestures opening up great possibilities to make the travel booking experience more enjoyable.”
