Background

Travel has historically been one of the most revenue-generating categories for ShopBack. However, during the COVID-19 recovery period, we have observed a significant decrease in travel orders. ShopBack aims to understand the reasons behind this decline and how users are planning and executing their travel during this recovery phase. By gaining these insights, we hope to develop strategies to boost travel-related transactions on the platform.

Roles & Responsponsibility

As the project lead, my primary responsibility is to ensure the smooth progress of each research stage. This includes planning, recruitment, conducting interviews, training interviewers, data collection, analysis, extracting actionable insights, and developing action items. My goal is to ensure that every phase of the project is executed effectively and yields valuable data.

Preparation & Set-up

Engaging in remote research has been a standard practice for me for many years. However, due to my limited proficiency in Thai and the constraints of company resources and time, we have decided to enlist the support of local ShopBack team members in Thailand to facilitate the interview process.

We have recruited 2-3 colleagues from the marketing and operational teams in Thailand and conducted comprehensive training sessions to familiarize them with the interview guide and process. This collaboration has allowed us to cultivate a deeper understanding of each other's working methods and foster a cohesive team dynamic.

Since these local team members may be conducting research interviews for the first time, my role as the project lead includes providing them with additional encouragement and confidence. I attend each interview session to observe and, in case of unexpected situations, offer immediate assistance to ensure a smooth and efficient process.

Goal

• Understand User Behavior: Identify the factors influencing users' decisions not to utilize ShopBack for their travel needs during the COVID-19 recovery period.

• Analyze Travel Planning: Investigate how users are currently planning and executing their travel.

• Develop Strategies: Use the insights gained from the research to develop strategies that will boost travel-related transactions on ShopBack.

Research Process

• Interview Question: A detailed guide was created to ensure consistency and depth in the interviews. Align with stakeholders on research questions and process.

  Training Sessions: Conduct thorough training for local team members to ensure they are well-prepared to conduct interviews.

  Data Collection: Collect data through structured interviews, focusing on users' travel behaviors and preferences.

  Data Analysis: Analyze the collected data to extract meaningful insights and identify trends.

  Actionable Insights: Develop actionable insights and strategies based on the analysis to address the decline in travel orders.

Insight & Learning

Gaps in Government Travel Subsidies

Despite the existence of a government subsidy named "We Travel Together" (WTT), our survey revealed that two-thirds of our users did not avail themselves of it. The main reason cited was the complexity of meeting all the eligibility criteria, resulting in a significant dropout from the WTT program.

However, there are positive aspects worth noting. One-third of our respondents reported having used WTT before. The highlighted advantages included enticing incentives such as a 40% discount on accommodation. Notably, a user shared that they could stack ShopBack cashback with WTT plane tickets, underscoring the program's versatility.

Lack of awareness

The majority of non-users expressed a lack of knowledge regarding the Travel category and associated merchants. In interviews, participants were asked to navigate through the usual routes, which included three primary entry points:

• Search Bar

• Watchlist

• Scrolling all the way down until they find the logo

Despite these entry points being the common pathways, non-travel users seemed to overlook or were unaware of the presence of travel-related options on ShopBack.

ShopBack is currently not integrated into the inspiration and review stage of the trip planning journey.

During a user demonstration, one participant illustrated how she Googled the destination and discovered relevant blogs. These blogs became a significant source of information for her trip planning, indicating that ShopBack is not yet a prominent part of users' considerations during the initial stages of seeking inspiration and reviews for their travels.