August 23, 2023

Using Testing To Create an Outstanding Booking Experience

Sarah Moore

Rocket Travel by Agoda continually optimizes the user experience of our platforms by considering each stage of the customer journey, including the checkout process. We recently carried usability tests to streamline conversion on our checkout page and mitigate consumer friction, which resulted in a 67% confidence rating. Usability and validation testing are regular parts of our product design process to ensure we build easy-to-use technology for our partners and their customers.

A data-driven checkout redesign

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Beautiful Rust - Noel F.
‍WINNER

Sukhothai - Tham W.

A Glimpse into the Past with Grandma - Fernanda R.

Sunrise Moment in Bagan - Justyna S.

The Sound of Vinyl - Bruna R.

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1965 Apollo Test Capsule - Erica A.

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Nostalgia gives us perspective and, maybe, objectivity- Valentina O.

Love lights life- Diana F.

After a recent migration from our former payment platform to our new framework, React, our design team took a deeper dive into what the customer is currently experiencing at checkout. We ran a study to determine the usability of the checkout page, uncovering any pain points and providing qualitative data to substantiate a redesign.

During the study, we completed eight unmoderated sessions with unique users. Each user was given three separate tasks using the complete checkout prototype. From using the ‘pay later’ option, booking multiple rooms, editing incorrect information, to adding special requests for the hotel reservation, we wanted to ensure that users were able to successfully complete the set tasks. The participants provided ease-of-use and confidence ratings, verbal feedback, and additional recommendations throughout the test.

In-depth consumer journeys drive engagement throughout every phase of the customer lifecycle. A robust suite of transactional emails ensure customers have all the information needed at their fingertips from booking, to check-in, and post-trip. Dynamic cross-sell strategies allow us to drive high attach rates with other travel products offered by our partners, generating incremental bookings and boosting the value of each trip, and abandoned search and welcome series ensures customers understand the value of our partners’ travel platforms and stay loyal to our partners’ brands.

Personalized content leveraged throughout our emails, delivering a unique experience for the consumer. Our personalized email communications ensure each customer has all the information they need throughout their travels, easy ways to contact our customer loyalty team for assistance, and suggest travel destinations based on their personal travel preferences. This adds a level of convenience to the consumer experience and drives engagement with our partners’ brands.

Utilizing AI is quickly becoming a cornerstone of email marketing. Using artificial intelligence allows our marketing teams to quickly drive innovation through A/B experimentation. In testing, we have found it to be very effective at driving results and are developing new ways to leverage this emerging technology as email marketing services continue to expand.

Segmenting audiences based on previous engagement data to deliver new messages to the customer and drive continued engagement with our white label platforms.

Robust reporting enables us to continually optimize the performance of our campaigns, and keep partners informed of success and areas of opportunity at every phase of a partnership.

About the author

Sarah Moore is the head officer for Rocket Travel by Agoda, previously serving as Senior Vice President, Commercial for the team. Before joining Rocket Travel by Agoda, Moore served in leadership roles with both Expedia and Orbitz Worldwide. She’s also a founding member of Chief, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.