Customer satisfaction with online travel in the US has jumped 1.3 percent to a new all-time high of 78 and an increase of 4 percent since 2008, according to The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) annual E-Commerce Report.

Published: 16 Feb 2011

Customer satisfaction with online travel in the US has jumped 1.3 percent to a new all-time high of 78 and an increase of 4 percent since 2008, according to The American Customer Satisfaction Index’s (ACSI) annual E-Commerce Report.

Expedia scores 79 to lead the industry, and it has led or held a share of the industry lead since 2000.

Produced in partnership with ForeSee Results, the report stated: “If the sustainability of online travel aggregatorbusiness was ever in question, we now can see that it is an industry that is here to stay. From 2005 to 2008, the industry was on a declining trend, but now, they have reversed that trend, which is remarkable considering the travel industry is one where lots of variables are out of the companies’ control. This is not welcome news to competitors of this industry. American Airlines has pulled its flights from Orbitz and Expedia in order to avoid paying fees for securing customers. Delta has also pulled its flights from smaller online travel companies not measured in this report.”

“Customers like being able to compare competing flight options and prices on a single site, and customers are far more satisfied with online travel companies than they are with airlines overall. The airline industry, which is measured every June, scored 66 and is one of the lowest-scoring industries in the ACSI.”

Expedia is joined at the top of the industry by the “all others” category with a score of 79. Travelocity, which placed last in the industry last year, increases its score 1 percent to 77, beating Orbitz (-1 percent to 75) and Priceline (-4 percent to 73). With a three point drop, Priceline saw the largest decline in the industry.

Last year, Priceline jumped from a 72 to a 76, which was the largest gain in the group and put them just below the industry aggregate score of 77.

“Priceline’s aggressive pricing has resulted in high revenues over the past year, but their drop in score tells us that the future is not as bright. Their pricing approach may not be as valuable to consumers as the economy stabilizes and customers turn back to sites to which they are more loyal. In our research, we found that Priceline trails other sites when it comes to brand familiarity. The fact that most people are more influenced to visit Priceline as a result of search engines than the other sites shows less loyalty. Consumers that are less loyal to a site are typically less familiar with the site and therefore often less satisfied,” stated the report.