Expedia launched their first ‘Expedia Innovation Lab’ in Asia, aiming to use proprietary scientific methods to capture consumer online and app travel search and booking behaviour.
Located in Singapore, the lab will contribute to inform future innovation and technology development globally for optimising Expedia’s websites and apps. This is the third Expedia Innovation Lab for the company; one in its Bellevue headquarters and the other recently launched in London; and this marks the first for Asia Pacific.
Jonty Neal, Chief Executive Officer, Expedia Asia said, “Asia’s emerging position as a leader in mobile application and technology makes it as an ideal location and testbed for us to solve business challenges with new solutions. We have a commitment to growing Asia suppliers, partners, travellers and team, as well as investing in technology and innovation, much of this driven by insights from Asia.”
The lab will focus on 2 aspects, Electromyography (EMG) technology and Eye tracking technology for site and app; these, combined with real-time questioning, uncovers how travellers engage with Expedia’s family of websites.
With EMG, small sensors are placed on the cheek and eyebrow of test subjects, and the sensors record tiny changes in the user’s facial muscles. Changes in EMG readings is used to track and understand real-time impact that the experience is having on the subject as they navigate the site or app booking process.
Eye tracking is used by researchers with skills in cognitive psychology and data analytics, allowing them to track exactly where the user was looking. Both technologies together can determine what actions a subject took as a result of emotional responses to what they were seeing, and explore triggered the respondents’ travel-search or booking decision, be it delight or frustration.
“Extending Expedia’s in-house research capability to Asia builds on our existing research and data-driven approach to innovation, and allows us to explore why a traveller makes decisions in interviews that support eye-tracking and emotional responses when booking a trip.” said Arthur Chapin, Senior Vice President, Product and Design for the Expedia group.
While each individual has a unique experience while booking a trip, collectively this data reveals trends that inform future site and app innovation, in this case, specific to Asia Pacific travellers. Based on this information, Expedia then implements a scientific ‘test-and-learn’ approach to trial site and app improvements.
