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Transforming the Digital Retail Experience for Airlines
www.pros.com
Once adopted in the airline organization, the retail-first
mindset requires agility and flexibility to bring digital
projects to market. However, a wide range of barriers
can block or slow down changes to airline's eCommerce
channels. For example, the integration between existing
systems and legacy solutions with new retailing
capabilities can be in conflict with how airlines sell
products and services across their direct channels. And
in the end, customers are left frustrated with their
shopping and booking experience as they are not able
to find what they want, quickly.
Research shows that 90% of airlines focus their digital
transformation efforts on multiple changes to their tech
stack, including enhancing eCommerce systems for
retail
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. All for the goal to be more flexible and agile and
deliver a better customer experience. This includes the
ability to experiment with the way offers are displayed,
and quickly adopt proven retailing techniques to upsell
ancillaries while improving the customer experience
throughout the customer journey.
What does your airline need to improve the digital retail
experience?
• Speed. Quickly test and change UI elements within
the shopping and booking experience with flexible
and customizable UI that does not require long and
costly implementations.
• Conversion. Know and control what is and is not
turning lookers into bookers. Track user behavior and
how different A/B tests are performing and adjust
real-time.
The Limitations from Lack
of Control and Flexibility
• End-to-end experience. Own the dialogue with your
travelers and use it to build brand trust. Start with
inspiration, convert during shopping, simplify during
booking and upsell all through post-trip.
• Control. Control how you create and display offers,
and how offers are distributed across your sales
channels.
• Retail. Move from a distribution to a retail state of
mind. Your airline is the merchant of more than just a
flight: offer flight ancillaries, stopover experiences,
bundles, hotels, cars and more.
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2019 PROS/Hanover Airline Digitization Study
