INTRODUCTION

Zuji is an online travel agent which aims to provide travel solutions to travellers in the Asia Pacific. They provide wide selections of services such as more than 400 airlines, 60,000 hotels, and thousands of cars hire, activities, attractions as well as travel insurance to travellers.

Zuji is a B2C e-commerce website as it helps to provide services without having the need to have a physical office. It entail a network of online travel sites throughout Asia Pacific, most with teams on-the-ground managing supplier relationships, marketing and site content and deals.

Zuji also satisfy the fact that it is a transaction broker as it works virtually in the internet. It helps to link up all the travelling deals and present it virtually to the consumer. At the same time, the consumers are buying services from the website itself and not from the independent airlines which they feature.

DESIGN

Zuji followed the transaction cost model design model. By providing customers information on prices for air tickets to destinations around the world, Zuji reduces the search costs for their customers as they can easily compare prices for different airlines at Zuji.net. This reduces the search costs for the customers as they do not have to go to each of the airlines’ website and compare prices for the different airlines.

In addition, being a virtual store also reduces the transaction costs of doing the transaction in real life. From the customers’ point of view, it saves them the trouble and costs of going down to the travel agent and making the transaction. From Zuji’s point of view, expenses such as rent for a shopfront and salaries for a shop manager are also saved.

SECURITY / PRIVACY

Various security features of the website is also ensures that customers can transact freely at Zuji with a peace of mind.

One of them is the assurance given by TRUSTe that site users can click with confidence as their privacy is being protected. Site goers are also given the assurance from TRUSTe that they are only being guided to safe websites. Also, site goers who find that they have had a bad experience at Zuji could also file a privacy complaint with TRUSTe.

Zuji is also accredited with a TrustSg seal which is being issued by the Infocom Development Agency of Singapore(iDA). This further give customers the assurance that they are transacting over a secured channel which is certified by the government.

Other security features that would definitely be valued by potential customers looking to book a holiday online include Verisign, NATAS seal and verification by VISA.

STRENGTH

Real time information

The fact that Zuji is a virtual store, it is able to source for real time deals in the area of services provided. This is a key benefit for consumers who are looking for cheapest deals at any point in time.

Consumer profile

Zuji allow consumer to create personal profile to aid in previous search and purchases. This will allow consumers to feel comfortable and ease of access when re-visiting the website. With a personal account, Zuji is also able to reach to its consumers with updates and newsletters.

Branding

Zuji claimed the following awards in the online travel industry in Asia Pacific.

· 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008 ZUJI® was awarded as Asia Pacific’s ‘Best Online Travel Agent’ TTG travel magazines in Asia Pacific.

· ‘Best Online Travel Agency’ in 2007 by the TravelWeekly (Asia) Industry Awards

· ‘Condé Nast Traveler’ magazine (March 08, US-edition) announced ZUJI as the ‘best travel web site for flights in Asia’

They are also a champion in embracing new technology which allow stopover, multi-stop, and open jaw travel.

WEAKNESSES

Customer contact hotline operates during normal office hours which may not be helpful when consumers need to get immediate solutions to a particular flight or hotel information. Although having personal profile is a key strength however, Zuji does not seem to be able to leverage on the fact. They should provide a login panel section for the consumers to login easily.

With the help of previous customer testimonials or reviews may help new customers to gain confidence and adopting Zuji deals faster.

PITFALLS / PROBLEMS

Total prices are not available to customers from the start of the transaction, as other costs such as airport taxes might not have been factored into the air ticket price that is displayed from the start. This may result in customers getting a price that they weren’t expecting at the end of the transaction.

Also, contact information for additional services such as cruise or car booking is not listed as local phone numbers. This may result in potential customers incurring additional search costs as they contact the relevant agencies which are not based in Singapore for information regarding cruise/car bookings.

Customers who book their holiday online via Zuji should also be aware that they are not the actual agents customer book their holiday with. This poses a problem which maybe inherent to all ecommerce transaction broker website. Customers who face issues upon arrival at their destination may face difficulty contacting a person / agent that can provide them a solution.