Distribution Strategies

Online travel agency Expedia.co.uk says it has seen sales reach peak levels as shoppers take advantage of January sales to combat ‘back to work’ blues.

Expedia.co.uk recently launched its winter sale, which includes savings of up to 40 percent on hotels and the chance to win back the cost of the holiday. Expedia.co.uk’s ‘smile campaign’ offers savings until mid-February.

The company highlighted that with sales on Expedia.co.uk reaching record-breaking highs last week, bagging a bargain seems to be perking Brits up out of their January blues.

Andy Washington, managing director for Expedia in the UK & Ireland said, “A holiday is a much-needed antidote to the stress and strains of modern day life and clearly the nation agrees, as Expedia.co.uk has seen its highest volume of sales ever last week and a third of our polled consumers see a holiday as an essential buy.”

“By booking a holiday in January, people can take advantage of the huge discounts and savings available online,” said Washington.

New research from the site looked into how people were cheering themselves up this January and the effects that certain purchases were having on their January ‘smile factor’. Over 70 percent of consumers felt that having something to look forward to, such as a holiday, was the key to fighting the winter gloom, followed by 41 percent who voted spending time with family and friends was the best way to lift their spirits.

Brits have one of the highest holiday allowances in the world - with an average of 25 days - and are firmly committed to taking the full amount despite economic uncertainty. However, with three in five British holidaymakers expecting holidays to increase in price this year it appears that many people are taking advantage of the huge discounts on offer online this January, such as Expedia.co.uk’s winter 40 percent off sale, highlighted the company.

Cheapflights.co.uk, in its recent survey, found that travel is still a priority for 83 percent of the 15,000 Brits who participated. In fact, they’re cutting back in other areas of expenditure to protect their travel budget, added the company.  Therefore the company is waging a `War on Gloom’ (#DefyTheGloom). It declared “travel to be the perfect antidote for beating the January blues” with its list of Top 25 Cheap and Cheerful destinations. “We know that UK consumers are cutting back elsewhere to save up for a holiday. At Cheapflights, we decided we could help and declared our `War on Gloom’. Together we can beat it,” Hugo Burge, CEO for Cheapflights Media said earlier this week.