Cheltenham racegoers buying event tickets quicker than ever before
Racegoers at The Jockey Club racecourses are buying event tickets quicker than ever with record numbers turning to improved online transactions.
The group – which is responsible for 15 of the UK’s horse racing venues including Cheltenham – has reported a 30 per cent increase in year-on-year basket conversion rates while average transaction times have dropped by 33 seconds.
It follows a transformation to The Jockey Club’s buying process which has been managed by development agency dotcraft to develop a faster checkout experience plus multiple payment gateways.
A quick pay option has also been launched, with a third (32 per cent) of ticket buyers taking advantage of racecourses’ new streamlined payment process.
The technology is compliant with racegoers’ use of loyalty points via Rewards4Racing and additional payment methods, such as digital wallets and Klarna, for increased checkout options.
Jack Lewis, Project Director at dotcraft, said enhancing customers’ digital journey before they arrive on course is a key metric in driving footfall and racegoer satisfaction.
“Customer buying habits have shifted dramatically as new technology has made purchasing and accessing event tickets quicker and easier than ever,” said Jack. “From our initial conversations with The Jockey Club, it was clear a deep dive into how racegoers interact with the group’s websites was necessary.
“From our findings, our team has delivered a customer-friendly user journey which has significantly reduced the number of clicks required to make a purchase and introduced seamless quick pay solutions for users’ devices.
“The immediate findings of The Jockey Club’s change in approach are really pleasing to see and will contribute to a sport-wide effort to engage new audiences, drive footfall and make horse racing accessible to all people.
“We are continually studying customers’ buying habits as part of our brief and will be monitoring activity closely in the coming months with the Cheltenham Festival, Aintree Festival and Derby on the horizon.”
Established in 2017 in Essex, dotcraft provides a range of digital services including website development, branding, conversion rate optimisation and consultancy.
Its client list includes Goodwood Estate, Renault UK and Dacia UK.
Andy Fellingham, Digital Director at The Jockey Club said: “We’ve really felt the benefits of partnering with dotcraft whose team are integral to our operation.
“Having a modern, streamlined, checkout process across our racecourses was identified as key area for improvement to make our fixtures and events appeal more to casual racegoers where first impressions count for everything.
“What dotcraft has delivered has gone beyond our expectations and – in my opinion – represents one of the best online ticket buying experiences in UK sport.”
