Apple Flash Sales.

Apple Flash Sales. According to a new report by Ypartnership, flash selling has turned out to be quite a successful method of selling for suppliers seeking to liquidate unsold capacity.
In fact the 2010 Portrait of American Travelers revealed that one out of seven active travelers purchased a last minute leisure travel service as a result of receiving an unexpected e-mail from supplier that required immediate booking. Of those, 47% booked an air fare and/or lodging and 38% purchased a complete vacation package. One out of five booked either a cruise or a car rental.
According to the Ypartnership report, flash sales are usually sent to consumers with whom the supplier already has an established relationship (i.e. frequent flyer or frequent guest members). But what type of consumer is most likely to respond?
The report reveals that younger clients, specifically Millennials and GenXers, appear to be more responsive to these offers than their older counterparts. Perhaps, more surprisingly, affluent travelers (those with income above $125 thousand) appear to be more responsive than budget-conscious travelers.
When asked if they’d ever purchased a travel service as a result of receiving an unexpected e-mail from a travel supplier that required an immediate response in order to book the featured offer, 18% of 31- to 44-year old (GenX) respondents said yes, as did 17% of 18- to 30-year olds (Millennials). Thirteen percent of 45- to 63-year olds (Baby Boomers) also said yes, while only 7% of those over 64 (Matures) had ever booked such an offer.
Additionally, 21% of affluent travelers indicated they have responded to a flash sale, whereas only 14% of those with household incomes of $50 to $124 thousand have done so.
Across the board airline tickets and hotel/lodging are the most commonly booked travel products purchased as a result of a flash sales offer, though lodging is more likely to be booked by Millennials (57%) and GenXers (57%) than Baby Boomers (38%) or Matures (30%). Airline offers resonated more with Millennials (52%) and Baby Boomers (50%) than with GenXers (42%) or Matures (33%).
Vacation packages are also somewhat popular, particularly with Millennials – 50% of whom said they’d purchased a vacation package as a result of a flash sale offer, versus 39% of GenXers, 34% of Baby Boomers and 16% of Matures.
Though only 21% of those who have ever responded to a flash sale had purchased a cruise, Matures (37%) and Millennials (29%) were more likely to do so than GenXers (17%) or Baby Boomers (21%).
Few of any age group indicated they’d purchased a car rental as a result of a flash offer, ranging from one-quarter of Millennials and GenXers to 16% of Baby Boomers and 0% of Matures.