Mobileintravel:drivinginnovationwithAPIs

Tech giant IBM handily describes APIs as “the building blocks of transformation” and “the digital glue that links services, applications and systems”.

IBM estimates the API economy will be worth USD 2.2 trillion in 2018.

In the same way that digital commerce has moved beyond ecommerce and is increasingly about mcommerce (mobile commerce), APIs have adapted as well and are pivotal to the continuing development of mcommerce.

A critical part of mobile’s role in travel is its role in last minute bookings, in turn boosting mobile’s conversion rate. A Phocuswright report revealed that conversion via mobile for OTAs has often been double that of desktop (5% vs. 2.2%).

And while more than half of all mobile flight bookings are made within seven days of travel, only 18% of searches occur within that timeframe.