London Theatre Direct

Rapid e-voucher rollout delivers London Theatre Direct post-pandemic revenue

The Challenge

Rapid e-voucher rollout delivers London Theatre Direct post-pandemic revenue

Having sold 10 million London theatre tickets, London Theatre Direct has enhanced customer service and mitigated revenue impacts of the coronavirus pandemic with a rapid digital gift rollout.

Established in 1999 as an official ticketing provider for London’s major theatres, London Theatre Direct offers theatregoers across the world confidence when booking tickets safely and securely.

However, revenues were adversely affected when arts and entertainment venues and operators were closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown imposed in the UK at the end of March 2020. So, it needed to:

Cope with an unprecedented volume of requests for ticket refunds as a result of lockdown;
Mitigate lost revenue from refunds by offering customers a chance to rebook, and;
Rapidly deploy a digital gift voucher alternative to ticket refunds for closed shows and events.

Offering theatregoers opportunity to rebook

London Theatre Direct wanted to offer customers the alternative to rebook their tickets for later dates and offset losses due to issuing refunds. But, with limited credit and gift capabilities, it needed to find a solution without heavy customer service overheads.

It worked with Eagle Eye to rapidly deploy a digital gift voucher solution to offer ticketholders an refund alternative that could be included in its relevant email customer communications

The Solution

Gift via API

Email voucher issuance

Real-time redemption

From contacting Eagle Eye in July to explore a potential solution, London Theatre Direct was able to send email communications using the gift functionality as a refund alternative within three weeks.

Using an API-driven approach to integration, the ticketing provider connected to Eagle Eye’s SaaS-based AIR marketing platform to manage the real-time issuance and redemption of gift refunds.

Fast-tracked customer experience enhancement

The ability to offer customers the chance to rebook using electronic gift vouchers has enabled London Theatre Direct to mitigate lost revenue from refunds and offset it against future bookings.

When a customer opts to receive gift vouchers to redeem at a later date, the ticketing provider manages their request via the real-time issuance and redemption capabilities of Eagle Eye AIR.

The customer gets instant confirmation of their choice, with their voucher sent to them via email, while real-time redemption also helps London Theatre Direct improve their rebooking experience.

Mark Prethero, Commercial Director, London Theatre Direct, said: ”Our development team found the large-scale, fast rollout straightforward and results are beating expectations. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers back to the West End.”

the benefits

Enable London Theatre Direct digital gifting to offset lost revenue against future bookings
Rapidly deploy and scale a seamless digital gift voucher solution as an alternative to refunds
Provide a rapid and seamless customer experience from issuance to redemption