July 2009 – E-Commerce websites have come a long way since the dot com boom. Travel websites have generally been seen to be first to adapt to new technologies. This may be true at the outset as more nimble teams worked behind the scene but large travel brands such as the leading global online travel agencies, have become mammoth organisations in their own right, where making even the smallest website change involves running and diving through hoops, developing proposals, seeking approvals and may take months to implement if ever.
Some of the top travel sites and coach operators have had the same booking process with small variation since they first launched and have not moved on. Meanwhile, the consumer plods on, irrespective of their frustration, to seek the ultimate reward, a cheap ticket! The consumer experience in most cases has a lot to be desired but consumers have been persistent in spending up to 15 minutes to make a relatively small transaction value purchase. But will they be so patient in the future?
Consumers have become increasing time starved and this trend will continue. Its not just the professionals who we hear about who have less time for simple tasks but the life of a student is not what it once was. With social networking brands, online video sites, virtual reality programmes and new entrants such as Twitter competing for peoples time, and never mind finding time to socialise with friends, consumers want to invest as little time as possible in “have to do” tasks.
Time is money as they say. Money is also a subject of the press these days with consumers seeking better deals and demanding even more value than before. Also being time conscious means that significant “savings” can be made in better using the cost of a person’s valuable time.
Shouldn’t then making a travel booking be easy? Not always so. Some websites ask for too much information during the process and have put up so many barriers and obstacles its a wonder they are in business at all. The only thing that keeps consumers fighting through the process is to make that saving, get their ticket and feel satisfied they have come out the other end in one piece.
easyBus the London Airport Transfers service part of the easyGroup and owned by Stelios the founder of easyJet base a key part of their brand positioning on one key value…simplicity. Initially sceptical, and having heard the travel company had launched a further improvement to their booking process we gave it a try. The easy brand slogan is “more value for less”, well the easyBus.co.uk booking system is certainly less too but in a good way. Booking a Gatwick bus to London we boarded the booking process. Once you start the booking process you know you are in one, but this is different. Immediately there is a lack of clutter, less wording and noisy information, and signposts too. It was like being on their Gatwick Bus, direct, fast and non-stop. The booking took me less than 2 minutes!
It’s clear that most of the top e-commerce companies have the technology but they use it badly. easyBus.co.uk have the technology too but they have not over-invented or engineered the process to show off what it can do. We just wanted to make a bus booking, which cost us £13 for two one way. That would be about an hourly minimum wage for two.
We spoke briefly with the easyBus.co.uk developer, Rachid Toualbi and when asked about how he would describe the process he surprised us with his answer, “Have fun, I did developing it!”. We think that sums up this article well.
Visit easyBus at http://www.easybus.co.uk
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Notes to editors:
About easyBus.co.uk
• easyBus was founded in 2004 by Stelios, the founder of easyJet.
• Over one million passengers have travelled with easyBus since the travel brand first launched.
• easyBus operates fast non-stop London airport transfers between Central London and Stansted, London Gatwick and London Luton airports.
• easyBus tickets start from £2 online; the earlier travellers book online, the more they can save.
• Tickets may also be bought from the easyBus ticket desks in London airport arrivals.
• Book online at www.easyBus.co.uk
easyOffice,
The Rotunda
42 – 43 Gloucester Crescent
Camden Town
London
NW1 7DL
TELEPHONE: 0207 0224904
EMAIL: [email protected]
website: www.easybus.co.uk
