Business and Marketing

“Happy Friday!” means so much more on the eve of Memorial Day weekend. While marketers prepare to relish in the impending three-day weekend, the rest of the world is about to enter travel season in earnest—bringing new opportunities to reach a vibrant segment of customers.

With 85% of U.S. travelers looking online for deals, travel marketers may want to ensure that both their deals and digital offerings are up to snuff, according to a new study from Parago, a rewards-based incentives company.

The study, which surveyed nearly 1,200 travel customers online throughout last month, found that 56% of those surveyed are more likely to travel if they can find great deals. “Consumers at all income levels are hungry for travel deals, especially online. Not surprisingly, these consumers would travel more if able to find good bargains,” said Theresa Wabler, Parago's VP of global marketing. “To build loyalty with the frugal and savvy American traveler, companies would be wise to pair discounts with additional offers for more travel.”

According to the study, 90% of people take one or more personal trips per year and 57% of them start their planning through Google and other search engines. Planning and booking trips through travel sites and travel agents is significantly less popular than in the past, with only 13% and 2%, respectively, utilizing those channels.

Offers for a free checked bag proved more motivating than rewards for future trips for 59% of air travelers, while including prepaid cards was most incentivizing for cruise, hotel, and resort customers. Rewards and loyalty programs were much more popular with the affluent and seniors, with nearly 70% of people 60 or older belonging to loyalty programs. More than 71% of people with an annual income of at least $100,000 belong to travel loyalty programs, while 88% of those making more than $200,000 are travel loyalty members. Only 31% of 20-somethings belong to loyalty programs.

Seventy-nine percent of vacation travelers rarely, if ever, purchase airline and hotel travel packages, and 6% of travelers purchase accommodations as a bundled deal.

Business Breaking News: 11 Social Media Selling Solutions for Small Businesses

Social media e-commerce has taken off — and it's showing no signs of slowing down. With social media selling, anyone can become an online merchant without having to invest in a website or give online marketplaces a cut of their profits. Here are 10 social media selling solutions to help you get started.

Tap into the power of social media and turn Facebook into your online storefront. Easy Social Shop lets small businesses reach customers on the largest social network with a free, customizable "Facebook shop." The service is currently used by more than 100,000 merchants who have increased revenues by an average of 10-18 percent, the company claims. It's also very easy to get started — just install the app and Easy Social Shop will automatically import products from your online store. The service integrates with several major e-commerce platforms, such as Etsy, Shopify, eBay, Magento, Amazon and PrestaShop, making it accessible to most online sellers.

Need another way to sell on Facebook? The Soldsie Facebook app turns the social network's comments section into an e-commerce powerhouse. Typically, customers make purchases on Facebook by messaging sellers or leaving their email addresses. Instead, Soldsie's "Comment Selling" system eliminates all the back-and-forth communication by streamlining transactions. To start selling, connect Soldsie to your Facebook page, and upload product photos. These posts become your storefront, where fans can simply comment "Sold" to make a purchase. After commenting, they'll automatically receive an email invoice and proceed to checkout via PayPal or WePay. ['Buy Button' Could Make Twitter Your New Storefront]

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