The digital intelligence platform estimated that from the pandemic low in October 2020, web traffic to top cruise lines increased 321% in May. Traffic in May was up 119% year over year and up 5.7% over April. However, growth has been uneven, up only 1.8% in April after a 30.7% spike in February.
Rising engagement
Similarweb found customer engagement has strengthened, with duration (time spent on site), pages per visit and bounce rate (percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page) all modestly improving over the past year.
Rising engagement suggests visitors to a site have a greater intent to plan a cruise.
Yet conversion rate declines
That said, conversion data (the number of website visits that result in a purchase) dropped in May, which Similarweb said may be a warning sign.
The platform tracked Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Viking and Silversea Cruises.
Monthly web traffic to these lines from April 2019 through May 2022 showed the pandemic dip and slow recovery that has now approached pre-pandemic levels. While traffic has largely trended up month over month, it has been uneven: May was up 5.7%, April 1.8%, February 30.7%, after January was down 10.4%.
Challenges
According to Similarweb, many potential customers are still concerned about cruising, given past quarantines and COVID outbreaks at the pandemic's onset. Inflation and high oil prices are driving up costs, while the lines took on substantial debt loads during the pandemic.
'It looks like consumer interest in cruises is improving overall. That said, inflation and economic risks, coupled with continued worries about safety and the addition of geopolitical concerns like the war in Ukraine, could keep the industry from full recovery for some time,' Similarweb said.
The platform cited comments by Derek Lloyd, VP sales, Norwegian Cruise Line, at a conference in May: 'We’re seeing great bookings for 23/24. And then we are seeing a lot close-in. The middle for us is where we are having a bit of a challenge.'
Weakening US conversion data
Similarweb said its data on conversion trends in the US could be a warning sign. After strengthening sharply for the first three months of 2022, conversion trends decelerated in May.
With the backdrop of economic conditions and inflation pressures, this could be a sign consumers are not following through on booking cruises, despite their apparent interest based on engagement metrics.
After rising 50% in March and 35% in February, April conversion declined 4% and May weakened a further 8%, month-over-month. This decline could also be due to COVID spikes in different regions. Similarweb said the US comprises about 81% of total web traffic to leading cruise line websites.
Stronger engagement
A look at customer engagement metrics including visit duration, pages per visit and bounce rates over the past two years show improving trends. Greater engagement along with rising web traffic is a good sign, Similarweb noted, since if people are looking at more pages per visit and spending more time on a website, it's usually a sign of heightened intent to make a purchase.
Pages per visit rose to an average of 7.5 in May from a low of 6.5 in December 2020.
Bounce rate has remained relatively stable over time.
The full Similarweb insights, with charts, are available here.
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