The leak
They filled the basket, then left.
Peppa Pig World is one of the busiest family attractions in the UK, and people were reaching the ticket journey in numbers. They were adding tickets to the basket and then leaving before paying.
The agency team I worked in was brought in to find out where that was happening and why, and to redesign the checkout around the answer.
Selection UI cuts browsing short
Booking fees appear for the first time
Analytics and heatmaps said the same thing in a different language: erratic scrolling on the ticket step, and repeated taps on elements that were not interactive. Workshops with marketing, customer service and operations added the detail no dashboard had: customer service regularly took calls from people who had started booking online, given up, and rung instead.
- 01
Six screens between the basket and paying
The journey felt long before it felt worth it, and every extra screen is another place to think better of it.
- 02
Booking fees that appeared at the end
The first time anyone saw the real total was the summary before payment, the worst possible moment to change the price.
- 03
Nothing to trust anywhere in the purchase
There were no reviews, ratings or cancellation terms at the point where a family commits to a day out and pays for it.
- 04
A date and ticket selector that was hard to read
Cluttered on mobile, which is where family trips are actually planned. Heatmaps showed repeated taps on things that were not buttons.
The diagnosis
Two different people on one path.
First-time visitors and returning families were leaving at different points, for nearly opposite reasons. The checkout was built for an average of both, so it suited neither.
Needs confidence
First-time visitor
- Has never been, and is spending a family's day out
- Wants to know what is actually included
- Reads reviews before prices
- Browses longer, decides slower
Leaves because nothing answered “is this worth it?”
Needs speed
Returning visitor
- Already knows the park and has already decided
- Wants a date, a price and a payment screen
- Has answered every one of these questions before
- Browses less, decides faster
Leaves because the path asks it all again
First-timers had no reassurance at the moment they were asked to commit. Returning families were made to re-answer everything they had already settled the last time they booked. One journey could not serve both, and compromising between them would have served neither.
The change
Two ways in, and three steps instead of six.
The journey now forks before the basket. Which route someone sees depends on whether they have booked before, using account or cookie data the site already held.
Confidence Builder
For someone who has never been. Answer the question before asking for money.
- The park itself, in a photograph, before any price
- “What's included” written out: rides, park access, parking
- The rating and real reviews, because a stranger's word outweighs ours
- “No hidden fees” stated up front, and true at every later step
- A low-commitment next step: “Choose your date”, not “Buy now”
Fast Track
For someone who has already decided. Recognise them and get out of the way.
- “Welcome back”, with the date of their last visit
- The date picker first, and largest, because it is the only open question they have
- Tickets pre-filled from what they booked last time
- “What's new since your last visit” as a reason to look around
- One express action: “Book again”
Every one of those decisions has a reason recorded behind it. The photograph is there because someone who can picture the day is already half-booked; the rating is there because a stranger’s word outweighs ours; the pre-filled tickets are there because the easiest path should be the one that finishes.
Underneath both routes, the shared checkout was cut from six steps to three, the full price including booking fees was carried from the first screen, the date and ticket selector was rebuilt mobile-first with colour-coded availability, and cancellation terms and payment security were placed at the points where people hesitated.
Before: six steps
- 1Landing page
- 2Browse tickets
- 3Date & ticketsPeople left here
- 4Add to basket
- 5Cost summaryPeople left here
- 6Payment
After: three
- 1Select
- 2Review
- 3Pay
The cost, including every booking fee, is on all three.
The result
Designed, handed over, and not yet measured.
The redesign was specified and handed to the development team, and the engagement ended before launch. There is no measured outcome, so there are no numbers on this page. What follows is what the work was built to change, and what should be watched once it is live.
First-timers get their questions answered before the basket
The uncertainty that was sending them away (what do we get, what does it really cost, can we trust this) is dealt with while it is still cheap to answer.
Returning families stop re-answering settled questions
Recognition and pre-filled tickets remove the work; three steps remove the sense of a journey that will not end.
The price stops changing late
The total including fees is carried from the first screen, so the summary confirms a number instead of introducing one.
Fewer people give up online and phone instead
Customer service flagged calls from people who had started booking and given up. Those calls measure the friction directly, and they are the thing to watch after launch.
Not everyone abandons for the same reason. Here the work was noticing that two audiences needed different things, and building for both.