Shoppers Expect Consistency in Online & Offline Pricing

Consumers Want Integrated Shopping Experience . . .
Nearly half (49%) of consumers believe the best thing retailers can do to improve the shopping experience is to better integrate in-store, online and mobile shopping channels, according to the Seamless Retail Study, a report on new research by Accenture. Nearly nine in 10 consumers (89%) said retailers should let them shop for products in the way that is most convenient for them, no matter which sales channel they choose.

Consistency weighs heavily in consumers’ eyes. Seventy-three percent expect a retailer’s online pricing to be the same as its in-store pricing, and 61% expect online promotions to be the same as in-store promotions.

The survey found that as online shopping continues to grow as a consumer preference, there is a mutually beneficial relationship between stores and online channels. For example, in the six months prior to the survey, 73% of respondents browsed in-store at least once, then purchased online, an experience Accenture calls “showrooming.” Even more shoppers – 88% – browsed on the Internet before making their purchase in a store, a.k.a. “webrooming.”

. . . But Online Shopping Experience Still Lags
Consumers in the Accenture Survey on retail shopping are more enthusiastic about the experience of in-store shopping than online shopping. Ninety-four percent found in-store shopping easy. The percentage dropped for online shopping; just 74% called online shopping easy. And only 26% found the mobile phone shopping experience easy.

Suppliers’ Direct Reach to Consumers Hurts Agents
“The problem is that when large players [suppliers] try and reach over directly to consumers, they have high visibility and a very powerful voice in the market. Their message is that you don’t need an agent. That makes it that much harder for us to convey our value.” – Tony Cardoza, Cardoza-Bungey Travel, Palo Alto

NACTA Set to Make a Splash With Louganis
The National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA) will feature six-time Olympic Diving Gold Medalist Greg Louganis as keynote speaker at its annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Sept. 19 to 22. Themed Making a Splash, the conference will immediately follow ASTA’s Global Conference in Miami, where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver the keynote address.

NACTA’s four-day event will feature workshops on business training, including sessions on public relations and negotiating by trainer Peter Kerr. Registration is $199 for NACTA and ASTA members. For nonmember agents, registration is $299, which includes a one-year NACTA membership. A rate of $399 covers attendance at both the ASTA and NACTA conferences, including motorcoach transfer between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
 
G Adventures Seeks Agent Ideas on Social, Environmental Issues
The G Project, an initiative of the tour firm G Adventures and its nonprofit foundation Planeterra, is encouraging travel agents and their clients to submit ideas for solving social and environmental issues at a local level. Ideas may be entered in one of four categories – community, freedom, beauty or knowledge. Entrants must complete a questionnaire identifying the critical need, the impact their idea will have and the feasibility of execution. Deadline for entry is June 3.

Submissions will be showcased, and voted on, at the The G Project website. Four people will be selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in Costa Rica in September. Selection criteria will favor small-scale, sustainable ideas that focus on local communities and have a strong social element. The person whose idea the judges believe will have the most positive impact will receive a $25,000 development grant and the backing of Planeterra to bring the project to life.

ACTE Signs Child Protection Code
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) joined other travel industry organizations in the fight against human trafficking by officially signing The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism.
    
The Code encompasses six criteria that organizations must adhere to once they sign:
•    Establish policies and procedures against sexual exploitation of children;

•    Train employees/members in children’s rights, the prevention of sexual exploitation and how to report suspected cases;

•    Include a cause in contracts throughout the value chain stating a common repudiation and zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children;

•    Support, collaborate and engage stakeholders in the prevention of sexual exploitation of children;

•    Report annually on implementation of Code-related activities.