Attraction analytics trends - pre/post Pandemic

Published by:
Neil
Owner

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As we come through (hopefully) the worst of the pandemic, we've been briefly reflecting on trends we saw with attraction clients.

This is based around 1 Sept - 30 Nov 2019 v.s. same period in 2021... 
  • Outdoor attractions online performance
    These typically saw online conversion rates increase by 50-300%, with revenue significantly up v.s. pre-pandemic.
  • Indoor attraction website performance
    A more mixed picture with indoor attractions.  Conversion rate changes were minimal, typically +/-5% from 2019 levels.  However, most of the attractions we work with saw revenue increase, so the sales were better despite a more challenging environment to convert users.
What's driving the numbers?
We suspect, that increased conversion rates were driven from...
  • Improved flexibility for guests to visit in off-peak times (as they're saving time commuting, or can enjoy last minute local days out) 
  • Desire to get out of the house and enjoy fun activities post lockdown
  • Most of attractions got a lot more savvy with upsells and premium packages to help drive revenue, so bookings were higher value
General online / mobile trends
Some other helpful stats for you to keep in mind (from our RocketFuel retainer brochures) 
  • 20% of user have abandoned purchases due to poor UX
    Frustrated users are less likely to buy or upgrade on your site - see Baymard report
  • 4.42% drop in conversion rate per second of load time
    Slow sites cost money, search engine rankings and affect guest satisfaction - see Portent report
  • Most online Grow conversion rate by 35.26% with better checkout design
    Most attractions are leaving money on the table with clunky purchase journeys - see Think With Google
  • At least 34% of UK adults only use mobile devices to go online (11% only use their phones) - see Ofcom report

Top 5 WINS to check today... 
In terms of checkouts, the biggest impact areas are normally - 
  • Use systems customers are familiar with, particularly Stripe / Apple Pay / Paypal / Google Pay
  • Make sure checkout is mobile first, and makes use of mobile payments technology
  • Check conversion rates per device/browser and make sure any low performing ones are tested
  • Emphasise security, convenience and reduce all distractions
  • Add trigger messaging, retargeting and newsletter sign up from the checkout flow
  • BONUS - Consider Klarna and similar buy-now-pay-later tools  (interesting stats on these) 
Hopefully that helps... if you need a hand untangling your attraction's Google Analytics or overall CRO strategy then just drop us a line and we'll be happy to help.