In-flight drinks: How other passengers influence what you buy in-flight

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This was published 9 years ago

In-flight drinks: How other passengers influence what you buy in-flight

By Soo Kim
Updated
We're far more likely to order an in-flight drink if the person sitting next to us does first, study has shown.

We're far more likely to order an in-flight drink if the person sitting next to us does first, study has shown.Credit: iStock

Fliers are 30 per cent more likely to purchase in-flight drinks and duty-free goods if neighbouring passengers do so first, a new study has suggested.

Pedro M Gardete, a marketing professor at the California-based Stanford Graduate School of Business, analysed 65,525 in-flight purchases made by around 257,000 air passengers between January and February in 2012, Mashable reports.

He examined detailed information relating to the purchases, including the passengers' booking, flight and seat numbers as well as what items they bought at what time.

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The research led him to the conclusion that fliers are 30 per cent more likely to buy an in-flight item following exposure to a purchase made by someone sitting next to them. This influence, however, did not hold true after witnessing a purchase by a passenger in the row behind or the one in front.

"Willingness-to-buy is positively correlated with responsiveness to social influence," his report stated.

"[But] it's only the person next to them that affects them," Mr Gardete told the Stanford Business publication.

The study also found that the likelihood of a purchase doubles if the passenger next to you that buys an item is someone you know.

"This could be because they share the same tastes or because they are influencing each other," Mr Gardete said.

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The research also suggested that anyone who has already bought items on previous flights are "extremely open to social influence" and far more likely to buy another product (even before seeing someone else make a purchase).

"When people buy a product, they aren't just signalling they like the product or the experience, but they are telling you they are also more sensitive to promotions and very sensitive to social influence. That's something that hadn't been found before," he said.

The findings may prompt airlines to encourage such people to fly with them, Mr Gardete added.

"Airlines, for instance, might want to reward passengers who have made in-flight purchases by sending them vouchers before their next flight or even right after they make a purchase, in real time," said Mr Gardete.

"Implementation is a whole side of this that we don't know much about yet. But it will be an interesting problem to tackle."

Airlines around the world collected at least £31.5 billion ($A61.8 billion) in "ancillary" revenue last year (everything not included in the airfare, including food and drink and baggage fees), a study last year revealed, an increase of more than £4 billion on 2013, and up 1200 per cent since 2007.

The report, by the consultancy IdeaWorks Company, examined revenue at 59 major airlines. Wizz Air and Jet2.com were found to have replaced Ryanair as the European carriers most reliant on extra charges, while Spirit Airlines was show to be more reliant on extras than any other airline.

"Without ancillary revenue, the airline industry would be at a loss overall," Jay Sorensen, the president of IdeaWorks, told Mashable.

The Telegraph, London

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