Squarespace released new research that shows Americans agree that online research is more important for travel than any other activity.
Younger generations are consumed by the internet, a new Squarespace survey, conducted in partnership with the Harris Poll, revealed.
The research found that 60 percent of Gen Z and 62 percent of Millennials believe how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person. Additionally, about one in two Americans (49 percent) say they can remember the color of a website better than someone's eye color--and 71 percent of Millennials agree, vs. 58 percent of Gen-Zers.
For travel advisors trying to make an online impression, make sure it's a good one if you are targeting younger travelers. The survey also found that nearly half (44 percent) of Gen Z and 39 percent of Millennials think they make a better impression online than they do in person, compared to 21 percent of Gen X and 8 percent of Baby Boomers. Gen Z are more likely to remember off the top of their head the last website they visited (43 percent) than their partner's birthday (38 percent) or their social security number (31 percent).
"The majority of Gen Z believe that how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person - and while 92 percent of Gen Z are typically multitasking with other activities while browsing the web, they're also more likely to remember the color of a website than someone's eye color," said Kinjil Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer at Squarespace. "Americans browse over 3,000 websites a year, and our research shows that the things we see online can make a more lasting impression than things we see in person. This is why it's so important to create a well-designed presence across all the things you do on the web."
Key for the travel industry as a whole is that 66 percent of Americans agree that travel is the activity that online research is most important for. More than half of Americans (57 percent) think that a well-designed website or online store is more important for a business to have than a brick-and-mortar location, and 62 percent of Americans (and 76 percent of Millennials and 64 percent of Gen-Zers, specifically) always look up a business' website before shopping, visiting or eating there (compared to 65 percent of Gen X and 49 percent of Baby Boomers).
Seven in 10 Americans (70 percent) agree that when a local business has a well-designed website, they're more likely to shop there in person, which means that making sure your website is tip-top is key to a business' success these days.
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