Is the mobile booking tipping point fast approaching?

We live in a world where our lives are lived clutching a mobile phone. From social media to internet banking, there is little we cannot do on a mobile that we currently do on a desktop computer. And to some the shear thought of leaving the house or, god forbid, losing our mobile phone is a thought not worth contemplating.

The mobile has moved from luxury to necessity in a relatively short space of time – a must to have in your life if you are to live in the modern world.

And when it comes to transactions people are not afraid of buying things on their mobiles either – dedicated apps make it almost too easy to buy on-line, bet on the big match or even order a takeaway.

However, in the holiday park and campsite industry, despite more and more parks now having mobile friendly websites, it appears as though the majority of people still choose to use their desktop computers to book their holidays. But is this all about to change?

We analysed data across 5 parks from one of our clients and in nearly all cases the most revenue was generated by desktop bookings – despite, in one case, more than double the number of page views and sessions being carried out on a mobile device. Throw in tablets and the number was even more overwhelming in favour or non-desktop page views, yet the desktop was still king as far as revenue was concerned.

That same pattern was repeated across many other parks: People browse on mobile but book on a desktop.

But that could all be about to change. Data from these parks show that if the growth in mobile use and the increase in mobile bookings continues at a similar rate in 2017 as it has in 2016 then mobile bookings will finally overtake desktops next year in terms of revenue.

This is quite a significant shift and begs the question: Is your holiday park or campsite in the right place to capture this massive mobile audience?

Non mobile friendly websites punished

You should know by now that Google announced last year that it was to penalise websites in their rankings if they were not mobile friendly. This would see non mobile friendly sites pushed down Google’s search results when people carried out a search on a mobile device…Hence the rush for parks and campsites to have mobile friendly websites.

However, is there even more that can be done to aid the user experience of someone browsing your site using a mobile device? We think so….

That’s why we’ve begun designing new websites with a mobile first approach. Rather than designing a desktop site first and then scaling it back, cramming in as much as we can into a mobile version of the site, we instead start with mobile. We look at the getting all the key information into a smart and sleek design that’s quick to load and simple to navigate – and that looks just as impressive as it’s big brothers and sisters on tablet and desktop.

After all, if more bookings are likely to come from people using mobiles and tablets in 2017, shouldn’t we all be designing websites with mobile users at the top of the list, rather than just an afterthought?

Does your holiday park or campsite need a mobile friendly site? Do you want something innovative and that stands out from the crowd? Speak to Pitched today on 01726 418118 or contact us now.