21stCenturyDistribution report:The next stage of consumer empowerment

The next stage of consumer empowerment is in giving consumers the ability to configure all aspects of their vacation travel needs as an nterrelated whole. For transaction-focused companies the next new levels of giving the customers what they want will be letting consumers select all of their preferences by “self / dynamic packaging”. Today this is still a technological challenge. But interoperability problems are being solved and customer-optimized travel is already available, though in a limited fashion. Pre-packaged vacation offerings will continue to exist but they are already diminishing in their importance in the minds of vacation travel consumers, as they do not offer the desired flexibility of the new varieties. Soon, dynamic packaging capabilities will determine success or failure. The mantra continues to be “give the customers what they want or someone else will.”

The technology challenges of comprehensive dynamic packaging are rapidly becoming thing of the past. It is important to appreciate that the reason that it will come about is because consumers are becoming ready to insist on having these capabilities. It is almost here in the ways that we had envisioned it becoming. Competitive advantage will go to those who are involved in bringing it about, and to those whose information and products are in suitable formats that favor the re-combination of trip components into multiple, flexible itinerary configurations.

The only long-term formula for success is to totally focus on what customers really want and then provide that as well as we are able. The whole travel industry is becoming increasingly customer focused. Wisdom involves seeing the trend of change and then adapting to it rather than opposing it.