Guestlogix Launches Retail Analytics Engine for Mobile Ordering & 'Day of Travel' Revenue

New airline commerce platform designed for the digital habits and expectations of today's connected traveler

TORONTO, April 9, 2018 -- Guestlogix, a global provider of airline commerce technology and a pioneer in onboard retailing and ancillary revenue generation, is helping airlines expand mobile ordering from onboard retail programs to the larger 'day of travel' before, during and after the flight

The company's airline commerce platform previously launched in January 2018 with three main components – flight attendant point-of-sale app, management console and passenger mobile app – giving airlines the tools to meet the digital habits and expectations of today's 'connected traveler.' At this year's Passenger Experience and Passenger Technology Solutions conferences WTCE/IFSA in Hamburg, Guestlogix will officially launch the platform's retail analytics engine for mobile ordering.

"With enhanced mobile ordering, airlines are making it faster, easier and more rewarding for passengers to purchase ancillary merchandise throughout their journey," said Robin Hopper, VP Product & Marketing for Guestlogix. "The Guestlogix platform enhances mobile ordering with advanced retail analytics – enabling airlines to gather granular, passenger-specific data that provides a clear view of passenger needs, wants and behaviors, including travel habits, purchasing histories, personas and travel plans."

With the Guestlogix retail analytics engine, airlines can tailor ancillary offers and onboard inventory around passenger preferences based on predictive data analytics. Airlines can also use APIs to connect inflight sales with passenger systems and loyalty programs. Rather than limit ancillary revenue to the physical point of sale – such as during onboard cart service – mobile ordering enables airlines to treat any customer touchpoint as an opportunity for ancillary revenue. Mobile ordering will also make it easier for airlines to partner (and share data) with airport and retail pioneers across the day of travel – creating new possibilities for onboard retail programs, such as buying during the flight and delivering merchandise to the airport gate.

Mobile Ordering for Airline Commerce

With more low-cost (LCC) and ultra low-cost (ULCC) carriers in Europe and Canada competing for cross-border opportunities, airlines need immediate solutions to differentiate themselves around passenger experience and day of travel convenience. In the retail sector, for example, more brands are equipping store attendants with tablets. Beyond the practical benefits of having a mobile device – like quickly viewing online inventory – it also empowers store attendants to be drivers of revenue versus managers of transactions, as they are able to put retail analytics to use when interacting with customers.

In the same way, airlines are using mobile ordering to make service faster and easier for flight attendants and enable them to focus more on passenger experience and ancillary selling. Airlines can relieve flight attendants from the burden of taking manual orders, while passengers can browse inventory, place or revise orders and make payments directly from their smartphones. Ancillary revenue does not have to wait until the flight or confine itself to the airport – passengers can pre-order meals, upgrade their seat the day before their flight, get personalized offers for food and beverage, watch their favorite TV shows and even pay for destination amenities/activities.

With Guestlogix's retail analytics engine – and the underlying airline commerce platform – airlines can personalize onboard retail programs to reach the right customer with the right offer at the right time, wherever they are. The path to ancillary revenue is significantly easier as passengers can make payments in multiple forms and currencies, including cash + loyalty points and cross-border payments. As more LCCs and ULCCs enter the market and compete on ancillary revenue, carriers of all sizes will need better commerce technology to personalize and expand how they sell to passengers.

Air Travel and the Connected Traveler

Today's connected traveler is expecting more control, comfort and choice. To provide this, airlines must implement new mobile strategies that empower passengers for self-service. Onboard retail programs can be the perfect starting point for airlines to connect passenger self-service, inflight service and mobile ordering with larger opportunities for ancillary revenue before, during and after the flight. Through the airline commerce platform, Guestlogix is helping carriers realize a new era in airline commerce and ancillary revenue generation.

For more information about the company's new airline commerce platform or to speak with Guestlogix's VP Product & Marketing Robin Hopper, please contact Vanessa Horwell at vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com or Kristin Grages at kgrages@thinkinkpr.com.

Guestlogix, Powering a New Era in Airline Commerce

Built on the rails of the best on-the-ground e-commerce technologies that include passenger analytics and product mix optimization, data-driven sales and marketing tools and comprehensive payment functionality, the Guestlogix airline commerce platform enables airlines to increase ancillary revenue through an integrated, data-driven and customer-centric approach to onboard retail.  Combining passenger-level data with an intelligent, "big data" analysis layer and integrations with airlines' operational systems including loyalty, ERP, booking and departure control, the SaaS-based platform enables airlines to create a stress-free travel experience for their passengers.  Guestlogix solutions are designed to be deployed and configured with speed, ease and minimal IT integration, to be intuitive and enjoyable to use, and to deliver results. For airlines, that means significant increases in ancillary revenues and customer loyalty. For passengers, that means having control, comfort and choice. Headquartered in Toronto with teams in Dallas, London and Hong Kong, Guestlogix serves more than 2M passengers per day, counts 30+ airlines as customers serving 144 countries, and holds 90 payment certifications.  Visit www.guestlogix.com to learn more.

Guestlogix will have two speaking sessions at the combined Passenger Experience and Passenger Technology Solutions conferences at WTCE in Hamburg. On April 9, Guestlogix SVP of Product & Marketing, Robin Hopper, will be joining Gary Edwards, PhD, and a panel of industry experts to address a huge challenge – and opportunity – for airlines, which is how to tap into the goldmine of passenger data and transform that knowledge into personalized airline commerce. On April 12, Robin will be on stage again to discuss 'one-on-one retailing throughout the travel journey' and how smart use of data and mobile apps can empower passengers and boost ancillary revenues for airlines.

Robin Hopper
Robin is a product development and marketing strategist with a wide range of expertise in software development, user experience, marketing automation, CRM systems and data analytics. He has been instrumental in product development for major brands inside and outside the airline industry, including WestJet, Southwest, KLM, Qantas, Motorola, Pepsi and Sony Pictures, often operating in highly secure/sensitive data environments. With Robin's strategic leadership, Guestlogix has built a powerful, intuitive, full-suite airline commerce platform that transforms onboard retail into a true sales and marketing channel. His contributions have laid the foundation for a new passenger experience, helping airlines break down data silos using open APIs, mine data with predictive and prescriptive analytics, and create personalized, relevant offers for higher revenue and loyalty. Robin is able to weave together different strands of expertise, from mobile strategy to customer relationship management and marketing automation, helping airlines and other brands solve problems, satisfy customers and improve their bottom line.

Gary Edwards
Dr. Gary Edwards helps leaders of the world's best-known brands take a Decision Sciences approach to solving complex business challenges. Gary currently heads up Golfdale Consulting with his partner, specialising in research, insights, and communications for leading-edge digital companies. Previously he built and lead all client-facing functions at Empathica, a pioneering customer experience management company. He has also worked for top global market research firms: Maritz:Thompson Lightstone, as Senior Vice President; and Gallup Canada, rising to Country Manager and Senior Vice-President. Before his commercial career, Gary was an epidemiologist, analysing health trends in a multi-year tracking study for the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry. He holds MA (Psych) and PhD (Social Policy) from Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. His Hon. BA (Psych) is from the University of Western Ontario.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Vanessa Horwell, ThinkInk
+1.305.749.5342 x 232
vhorwell@thinkinkpr.com