Runway gains first mover advantage with direct-to-consumer travel telehealth: It’s replacing expensive and antiquated travel clinics with online $30 pre-trip consultations and medications, disrupting a $12 billion market.

Learn about the current recovery of the travel space. "In Other News," we discuss shoppers' inflationary price sensitivity and the unique value propositions of video streaming services. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Zach Goldner and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

This inaugural study ranks eight leading premium travel credit cards offering 49 emerging features, weighted by demand from prospective customers.

Travel, young cardholders, and SMBs prop growth

US consumers pined for pre-pandemic pleasures in Q4 2021, with the delta wave receding and omicron just entering the frame—and it showed in their search behavior. Organic Google search visits to travel sites increased 41% year over year that quarter. Meanwhile, retail and consumer goods took a hit: Visits to those sites decreased 14% as the prospects of in-store shopping improved.

Telemedicine is not the way most US adults prefer to access care. For only two healthcare needs—flu or cold treatment, and prescription refills—live video visits held an edge over in-office visits in 2021, and this margin was slim. US adults were more inclined to travel to their providers for mental health services, annual checkups, and physical therapy.

Across almost all product categories, US luxury shoppers are far more likely to make purchases in-store than online. Physical retail had the widest lead in the food and beverage category, followed by watches and jewelry. Digital got the upper hand in only fashion and travel, suggesting that for many tangible luxury goods, shoppers prefer to see and feel them before spending big bucks.

As part of a broader push toward liquidity assistance, checking customers will get a $100 cushion for certain transactions. Alternatives like this are becoming a must-have in a post-fee landscape.

Digital ad spending across several industries in the UK has been up-and-down the past two years. There will be across-the-board growth this year, but at uneven rates, ranging from 33.0% for travel to 7.8% for automotive.

After a complicated 2020, most industries in Germany will accelerate their digital ad spending growth in 2021. The rebound for travel and auto will underwhelm, but retail spend will soar.

TikTok could be the savior of the box office and travel counter: Pandemic-challenged industries have embraced the social media app in the hopes of fueling their recovery.

AirAsia, one of the world’s largest budget airlines, is on a mission to build a regional super app. While it follows in the footsteps of titans like WeChat in China and Gojek in Southeast Asia, AirAsia could blaze a path for travel and other industries not endemic to the mobile space. Companies looking to expand their mobile business should take lessons from its journey, wherever its final destination may be.

AirAsia, one of the world’s largest budget airlines, is on a mission to build a regional super app. While it follows in the footsteps of titans like WeChat in China and Gojek in Southeast Asia, if AirAsia succeeds, it will blaze a path for travel and other industries not endemic to the mobile space.