Apps Top Mobile Web For Travelers

There isn't much of a debate about apps versus the mobile Web when it comes to travel. New data from Nielsen shows Android and iOS device users spent 95% of their time accessing travel information from apps versus only 5% on the mobile Web. The research firm said the huge discrepancy was mainly driven by Google Maps—the top travel category app and site in June, accounting for 78% of all time spent in mobile on travel.

The mobile Web, however, was the go-to option in some travel categories including cruise lines, ground transportation and hotel information. Nielsen concluded that people generally prefer apps for guidance and navigation and the mobile Web for trip planning. But a recent eMarketer report on mobile use related to travel found most trip planning still takes place on the desktop Web because of the difficulty of scrolling through numerous travel options on smaller mobile screens.

Looking at the most popular travel apps and sites, Nielsen reported that seven out of the top 10 travel apps featured a map/navigation function, while the top mobile sites mostly included airlines and travel aggregators like TripAdvisor and Priceline.com. The search for lower gas prices this summer also helped drive GasBuddy to the No. 2 spot behind Google Maps on the app side.

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