Online conversions rocket by 300% for Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook has told investors that its recently launched e-commerce platform, Starfish, is helping increase conversion rates on thomascook.com by more than 300%. Full-year results to the end of Sept 2008, issued this morning, explained that Starfish “is designed to increase on-line search functionality. “The ‘shortlist’ and ‘compare’  capabilities…are proving particularly popular and the conversion rates…

Thomas Cook has told investors that its recently launched e-commerce platform, Starfish, is helping increase conversion rates on thomascook.com by more than 300%.


Full-year results to the end of Sept 2008, issued this morning, explained that Starfish “is designed to increase on-line search functionality.


“The ‘shortlist’ and ‘compare’  capabilities…are proving particularly popular and the conversion rates we are getting from visitors using these functions is more than three times the rate of other users of the website,” it said.


The financial results also talked about “a step-change in our e-commerce performance”.


Web sales in the UK reached 27% of total bookings. The number refers to “departed passengers” rather than sales.


Elsewhere, it also revealed that its bedbank hotels4u.com, picked up for £21.8 million this February, has started to provide European beds for Thomas Cook India outbound packages.


Overall, hotels4U accounts for  more than half a million customers a year.