Shopping for Holidays Still Popular Amongst Consumers in Spite of Lockdown

Tuesday, April 14, 2020 - 13:49 by Graham Miller

A survey from Izea suggests that although people around the world are confined to their homes at the moment as governments attempt to control and contain the coronavirus pandemic, plenty of consumers are still keen to plan their next holiday.

55 per cent of respondents said that they would be quite likely to arrange a trip via safe shopping online while they are waiting for the lockdown to end. For those who often travel in order to fulfil their professional responsibilities, this proportion rises to 61 per cent.

The pandemic has changed certain travel shopping habits, with over a third of people now saying that they would always make sure to book hotel rooms with the option to receive a refund in the event of unforeseen circumstances. In the past, plenty of consumers have been happy to get cheaper nightly rates by committing to a non-refundable room booking.

Of course, with a degree of uncertainty still surrounding the way that COVID-19 will be dealt with in the coming weeks and months, as well as due to the different strategies that nations are deploying to tackle it, holidaymakers are still relatively reluctant to make firm plans for any trips in the short to medium term.

Analysts said that customer loyalty was especially important to travel companies at this point in time, arguing that those consumers who have already arranged a trip with a particular operator in the past will be more likely to place a booking while the lockdown is in place.

An overall air of caution which is curtailing consumer spending at the moment means that it is not just travel plans which are being put on hold but also the purchase of physical products, making the outlook for the entire retail sector difficult to predict.