Today, Nucleus, the UK brand and digital consultancy, reported its 6th wave of research into the growth of mobile website browsing in the travel industry.
Key findings of the Nucleus Mobile Web Browsing Survey, conducted across 12 UK and international travel websites in January 2014, are:
- Mobile momentum approaches the tipping point as 38.4% of all traffic shifts to mobile devices in January 2014
- Mobile traffic grows at 42% year-on-year; heading for the majority of all web traffic by early 2015
- Apple remains dominant with 81.7% share of mobile operating systems - iPad 52.1%; iPhone 29.3%; iPod 0.3%
- Android shows significant growth to 16.5% of mobile OS, largely at the expense of non-iOS operating system
- Luxury websites still lead the way, with the top sites exceeding 43% mobile. Responsive designed sites consistently show highest penetration
Peter Matthews, Nucleus founder and CEO, commented “Wave 6 of our Mobile Web Browsing survey confirms we are approaching a tipping point in user behavior, with more and more users choosing to browse the web using their mobile devices. While travel brands have been slow to adopt mobile-friendly websites, those already using responsive design techniques to deliver seamless brand experiences across all devices are reaping rewards.”
Android’s share of web browsing grew quickly over the last two waves of research, albeit from a low base. Android, largely more recent Samsung devices, now account for 16.5% of all mobile OS in the survey, against Apple’s still dominant 81.7% - down from 82% in June 2013. Android’s growth seems to be at the expense of other operating systems, especially BlackBerry and Microsoft.
The top sites in the survey were, again, luxury brands and those already using responsive design all achieve more than 40% mobile share. These brands are set to reap the benefits of early adoption during 2014.
Download a free copy of the latest survey
Nucleus has recently completed responsive design or mobile website projects for many travel clients, including: CV Villas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Topping Rose House and St. James’ Court Hotel.