It’s no secret that people travel for the holidays, but did you know that travel bookings surge right after the holidays, in January?
Criteo shopper data shows that while the shopping leading up to the holidays is gift-focused, much of the interest after the holidays turns to experiences.
In all countries and markets in January 2017, even in the southern hemisphere, the number of daily travel bookings increased between 9% to 62%, with an average increase of 19% worldwide.
In the US, travel bookings on Christmas Day drop, but surge by a whopping 69% in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
The Post-Holiday Spike
The next big surge comes right after New Year’s Eve, when travel bookings see a dramatic increase once again. This trend continues throughout January, with bookings increasing steadily throughout February before peaking in mid-March.
Whether people are acting on New Year’s Resolutions to travel more, escaping winter weather, or spending holiday gift money to book much-needed vacations, we found that people are spending across all subcategories – from airfare to apartment rentals to cruise packages.
For travel and hospitality companies, this means taking advantage of this surge by letting retargeting campaigns run during and after the holidays to take advantage of shopper’s travel interests.
By retargeting early, pre-holiday and holiday travel searches, marketers can stay top-of-mind when travelers are ready to take-off!
