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What can TripAdvisor bring to retail?

Written by Tom Ryan

Source: TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor, the leading travel website, is opening a store at Raleigh-Durham Airport, the first such move for a reviews site. According to a report in the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC, the store, to open in the summer of 2018, will offer fliers “the opportunity to explore popular destinations through touchscreens and an interactive wall. Travel essentials such as snacks and souvenirs also will be available.” The store is also expected to sell T-shirts, bags, water bottles and luggage tags adorned with TripAdvisor’s Owl logo, already available on its website. The store will open through a partnership with Paradies Lagardere, which operates more than 850 stores and restaurants in 98 airports. These include media properties such as The Today Show, Univision, USA Today and CNBC. TripAdvisor hasn’t commented on the store. The travel planning and booking site, founded in 2000, last week announced it had crossed the 500 million reviews and opinions milestone. The company said it now posts 290 pieces of content per minute. Among TripAdvisor's stats:
  • Most reviewed tourist attraction: The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain (more than 104,000 reviews)
  • Most reviewed hotel: The Luxor Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV (over 28,000 reviews)
  • Most reviewed restaurant: Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon, Portugal (more than 25,000 reviews)
Trefis, the financial research firm, speculated that the store will support TripAdvisor’s fledgling booking business, Instant Booking. Competitors include Expedia and Travelocity as well as newcomers, Google and Airbnb. Amazon Books, which just opened its sixth store with a location in Lynnfield, MA, is one of the few stores that have brought an online reviews component to physical stores.

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