Warner Breaks boosted by online switch

Warner Breaks has moved to just 10% from its target of pushing a third of sales through its website, following a massive surge in online bookings in the past 12 months. The operator, which specialises in holidays for the senior market, said online sales accounted for a fifth of overall bookings, a jump of almost…

Warner Breaks has moved to just 10% from its target of pushing a third of sales through its website, following a massive surge in online bookings in the past 12 months.

The operator, which specialises in holidays for the senior market, said online sales accounted for a fifth of overall bookings, a jump of almost 50% from last summer.

The company is currently in the throes of a major online marketing campaign, using travel portals such as Yahoo! and MSN, following a decision to increase its online advertising budget from £750,000 to £1.5m.

Online manager Mat Finch said online advertising accounts for almost 10% of its overall marketing spend each year.

Warner Breaks is also considering plans to launch various social media tools such as blogs and discussion, Finch said.

The company has used marketing specialist Global Media in its drive to switch existing customers to book products online, alongside rolling out an online campaign through site ads, pay-per-click and affiliate advertising.

Finch said 55% of products sold online had been snapped up by new customers.