Comparing product is key for online bookers

Almost a third of UK travellers who book online do so because they are able to openly compare holiday options, a survey has revealed.
A further 27% said they use the Internet because it offers the lowest prices while 22% regard the web as far easier than trekking to a travel agent or picking up the phone.
The findings were included in a survey on online travel shopping and buying behaviour compiled by research analysts PhoCusWright.
The pattern was repeated in Europe's other key markets, France and Germany, where the ability to compare was the main reason for using the Internet for 36% and 23% respectively.
In France however, only 16% said price was the key driver while 22% cited speed as the main reason. Two in ten German online travel buyers said price was key with a similar number claiming ease of use made it their booking channel of choice.
"Online travel buyers access many of the same travel sites and visit many of the same places but European markets differ in the way they purchase their holiday travel," the survey stated.
According to PhoCusWright, 20% of Germans and 27% of the French purchased travel in person in the past year compared to 9% in the UK.
Elsewhere in the survey, figures showed the typical online buyer searched 4.76 websites before booking while increasing numbers are prepared to book longer-stay holidays through the Internet.