Exploring choice overload in online travel booking

Abstract

When searching for their holidays online, consumers are frequently presented with thousands of options that require a large amount of cognitive effort to digest. This often results in consumers feeling overwhelmed, causing them to experience choice overload. This study explored and identified the moderators and outcomes of choice overload that could be specific to an online travel booking experience. A qualitative methodology was adopted to tap deeper into the experiential aspect of the online booking process from the perspective of the consumer. In-depth interviews were carried out with eleven participants who had prior experience in making online holiday bookings. Findings suggested that there were both intrinsic and extrinsic moderators that affected choice overload in an online travel booking context. There also seemed to be different forms of outcomes of choice overload in the online environment. In light of these findings, marketing implications for online travel booking operators are discussed.