Tailored journeys, frictionless smiles: Digital retail takes flight

The airline industry is undergoing a profound transformation as the convergence of technology, changing customer demands, and intensifying market competition reshape the travel landscape. In this era of disruption, airlines are increasingly turning towards digital initiatives to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and gain a competitive edge. Embracing digital retail strategies, driven by NDC (New Distribution Capability) and OOM (One Order Management) standards, is proving to be a critical step in this transformation journey.

The imperative of digital retail

In the face of rapidly evolving customer expectations, traditional airline retail models are becoming increasingly inadequate. Today's travellers are digitally savvy, demanding personalized experiences, seamless interactions, and real-time access to information. Digital retail strategies empower airlines to address these evolving demands by providing a more flexible, agile, and customer-centric approach to travel retailing.

Unveiling the benefits of digital retail

Adopting a digital retailing model offers a multitude of benefits for airlines:

• Enhanced customer experience: Digital retail allows airlines to deliver personalized, consistent, and omnichannel experiences across all touchpoints, from booking to post-travel interactions. Personalized offerings can be tailored to individual preferences, providing relevant content, recommendations, and promotions throughout the customer journey. Seamless interactions eliminate friction points, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable travel experience. Omnichannel engagement allows customers to interact with the airline through their preferred channels, providing a consistent and unified experience.
• Improved agility and flexibility: Digital retailing empowers airlines to respond quickly to changing market conditions, adjust pricing strategies in real-time, and introduce new offers seamlessly. Real-time pricing adjustments enable airlines to optimize revenue by responding to demand fluctuations and market dynamics. Dynamic pricing strategies allow airlines to personalize pricing based on individual customer profiles, travel patterns, and market conditions. New offer introduction becomes quicker and more efficient, enabling airlines to capitalize on emerging opportunities and respond to customer preferences promptly.
• Increased revenue opportunities: Digital retail enables airlines to tap into new revenue streams through ancillary products and services, targeted marketing campaigns, and dynamic pricing strategies. Ancillary products and services, such as baggage fees, seat selection upgrades, and travel insurance, can be offered seamlessly through digital channels, generating additional revenue streams. Targeted marketing campaigns can be tailored to specific customer segments based on their travel patterns, preferences, and demographics, maximizing the impact of marketing efforts. Dynamic pricing strategies can be implemented to optimize revenue by adjusting prices based on demand, market conditions, and customer behaviour.
• Reduced Distribution Costs: By bypassing traditional intermediaries, airlines can streamline distribution processes, reduce costs, and gain greater control over their pricing and branding. Eliminating intermediaries reduces the number of entities involved in the distribution chain, streamlining processes and reducing costs associated with third-party commissions and fees. Greater control over pricing and branding enables airlines to maintain consistent brand messaging and pricing across all channels, maximizing brand equity and revenue generation.

NDC and OOM: The Powerhouses of Digital Retail

NDC and OOM standards play a pivotal role in enabling airlines to implement effective digital retail strategies. NDC provides a standardized messaging format for airlines to share rich product and pricing information with travel agents and distributors, enabling them to offer a wider range of personalized and dynamic fares and services to their customers. OOM facilitates a single, unified order management system, eliminating the need for multiple systems to manage bookings and ancillary services, simplifying the booking process and providing a seamless customer experience.

Coforge: Shaping the Digital Strategy for Airlines

Coforge is a leading IT services provider with a deep understanding of the airline industry and a proven track record in helping airlines implement successful digital retail strategies. Through our digital experience framework, we help airlines:

• Develop a comprehensive digital retail strategy aligned with their business goals, customer needs, and market opportunities.
• Implement NDC and OOM standards to create a seamless and efficient retailing ecosystem, ensuring smooth data exchange and order management.
• Enhance customer experience through personalized offerings, tailored content, and consistent interactions across all touchpoints.
• Optimize pricing and revenue generation through data-driven insights, dynamic pricing strategies, and targeted marketing campaigns.
• Streamline operations, reduce costs, and gain greater control over distribution processes by eliminating intermediaries and leveraging digital technology.

The adoption of digital retail strategies is not just a trend; it's a fundamental shift in how airlines approach customer engagement and business operations. As the airline industry continues to evolve, digital retail will remain at the forefront, driving innovation, enhancing customer experiences, and shaping the future of air travel. Read more about Airlines CX here: Transform Airlines CX with digital retail (coforge.com)

By embracing digital retail strategies and leveraging the power of NDC and OOM standards, airlines can position themselves for success in an increasingly competitive and technology-driven landscape, with a focus on the customer.

Learn more about our offerings in the Travel, Transport and Hospitality domain. Visit:
Coforge | Travel, Transportation & Hospitality | Consulting & Technology Services

Author

Pranjali Bhatia

Pranjali Bhatia is AVP, Aviation & Travel solutions at Coforge Technologies. She has 20 years of experience of working with leading airlines, airports, travel technology companies across the globe. She has strong experience in Airline Ecommerce, Digital solutions and has been driving transformation for leading travel enterprises using disruptive digital solutions enabling improved customer experience & revenues.