How IoT Technology Is Elevating the Customer Experience
New findings from Think with Google — Google's marketing data and research division — show that during the decision-making stage of travel booking, customer service matters more than loyalty programs.
New findings from Think with Google — Google’s marketing data and research division — reveal that when travelers are deciding where to book, customer service outranks loyalty programs as a key purchase driver.
Data from Google’s joint research with Greenberg, the High-Value Traveler Research, paints a clear picture: when consumers consider a travel booking, customer service, an easy-to-use website, and online reviews all matter more than loyalty programs. When asked to name their top three deciding factors, 60% of respondents cited customer service as the most important consideration. Roughly 55% pointed to a user-friendly website, and 50% named online reviews. By comparison, only 46% of respondents ranked loyalty programs among their top three factors when making a booking decision.
These findings will come as little surprise to anyone who tracks the preferences of younger travelers. Numerous studies have consistently found that consumers between the ages of 20 and 30 prioritize travel experience over loyalty status when choosing where to book.
Customer service is especially critical in the airline industry, where passengers often struggle to distinguish one carrier from another — a persistent pain point for many airlines. By investing in a differentiated customer experience, carriers like JetBlue have been able to attract travelers who would otherwise remain indifferent to traditional loyalty programs. JetBlue has achieved this, in part, by embracing a smart IoT ecosystem throughout the travel journey.
1. Arrival and Check-In
JetBlue uses IoT to power its “Auto Check-In” feature, automating the boarding process end to end. Once a ticket is booked, passengers automatically receive their boarding pass and seat assignment within 24 hours of departure — no app login or website visit required. The system selects seats based on each traveler’s stored personal preferences and pushes the boarding pass directly to their device.
2. Navigating the Airport
While checking in may now be seamless, getting around a busy airport is another matter. Long queues and crowded terminals remain a constant source of frustration and confusion for travelers. New technology is changing this. Using Bluetooth beacons, NFC tags, Wi-Fi, and geolocation capabilities, airport operators can now pinpoint passenger locations in real time and deliver contextually relevant services at exactly the right moment — from flight notifications to targeted retail promotions.
This is already happening at airports around the world:
Helsinki Airport, Finland uses Wi-Fi and iBeacons to track passenger movement and deliver location-based services. The technology helps prevent bottlenecks and long queues while allowing retailers to push targeted messages to passengers based on their exact location within the terminal.
Miami International Airport operates a network of 400 beacons across its terminals and retail outlets, providing travelers with detailed information and personalized services. Through the airport’s mobile app, users can scan boarding passes, access indoor navigation, view gate assignments and flight status, check estimated walk times, and receive recommendations for nearby dining and shopping.
The IoT Era: Unlocking 360° Consumer Insights
The rise of IoT is enabling brands to build a truly complete picture of their customers. Consumer data can be utilized to its fullest potential, and every connected touchpoint becomes an opportunity to deliver meaningful, seamless experiences. For any business with growth ambitions, embracing technology as a strategic enabler is no longer a differentiator — it is the baseline expectation.
Knight approaches this from five interconnected dimensions: social, insights, loyalty, retail, and growth. By delivering end-to-end integrated marketing solutions, Knight helps brands design technologically sophisticated consumer experiences that form a seamless, closed-loop ecosystem. The result: longer dwell time in store, genuine word-of-mouth driven by outstanding experiences, and ultimately a new traffic acquisition channel that translates directly into revenue growth.
On the surface, the Smart Store solution appears to be focused on physical retail management — but its principles apply much more broadly. By combining video recognition, Beacon technology, Wi-Fi, RFID, and other data capture methods with multi-channel media capabilities, Knight helps brands collect deep consumer and product intelligence. This data-driven approach empowers brands to deliver intelligent, personalized recommendations to consumers — while equipping operators with the actionable performance data they need to run their business more effectively.