Placeable Study Finds Vacationers Are Mobile and Prefer Proximity Over Brand When Searching At Time of Need

A new study conducted by Placeable, the leader in location marketing automation for the enterprise advertiser, looks at how summer travelers use search while they are away from home. Nearly 88 percent of Americans plan to vacation this year, and four out of five people will plan their vacations online through search engines. While on vacation, nearby location trumps brands for many types of consumer purchases—and mobile devices will be the dominant form of search.

“Missed Connection: Why National Brands Must Adapt to Changing Traveler Behavior.”

The study shows that proximity matters to consumers while on vacation. When looking to replace an item that was not packed or forgotten at home, the closest retailer will win over a preferred brand. Proximity is apparently so important that, according to the study, only 1 percent of vacationers consider reviews when looking to replace a forgotten item. Additionally, 65 percent of the travelers surveyed report that they seek restaurants and retail locations within five miles of their current location while on vacation. Seventy-six percent reported that they search for local retailers and 89 percent look for local restaurants while they are away from home.

Most consumers use mobile devices to find products, services and places while they are away. Placeable reports that over 85 percent of consumers search for restaurants and retailers on their mobile device while they are on vacation. Fifty four percent of travelers postpone researching restaurants until they are already on vacation.

“Enterprise brands must optimize themselves locally to capture vacationers searching for non-brand products, services and places,” said Ari Kaufman, CEO of Placeable. “Travelers are increasingly dependent on their mobile devices while on vacation. Based on vacationer preference toward proximity rather than brand, accurate location data and optimized websites are paramount. Enterprise advertisers must leverage web and mobile locators with local landing pages to capture vacationers that are searching for the closest business.”

Placeable is releasing these and other findings in a new report, “Missed Connection: Why National Brands Must Adapt to Changing Traveler Behavior.” Find and download the report.

About Placeable

Placeable helps large advertisers increase local market share and improve customer experience by unlocking location content as a strategic marketing asset. With Placeable’s web-based platform, brands and agencies easily clean and control their place data for use across maps, search engines, social networks, local landing pages, locators and marketing technology. Placeable’s location marketing technology powers millions of locations worldwide for brands including Bank of America, Western Union, American Express and Nationwide Insurance. Placeable is based in Denver, CO. For more information, visit http://placeable.com/