Designing the upsell module that made Cadbury hundreds of thousands in extra revenue...
The Challenge
Cadbury World was selling thousands of tickets a day but basket values were lower than they should have been. People were buying entry tickets and leaving without adding the extras. We also knew pricing affected behaviour, but we did not know how. Were people choosing by date first or price first? Did variable pricing cause hesitation? We needed to understand the decision making before we could design a better experience.
The Approach
Analytics deep dive
Dug into the data to see where people were dropping off. The exit points were pretty revealing.
Pricing research
Ran research into how users actually make purchase decisions. Studied whether they chose date first or price first, and whether variable pricing caused hesitation. Turns out there was an appetite for both, but when the date affected the price, users were going back to compare.
Designing suggestions
Worked out how to suggest relevant extras at the right moment without being annoying. Nobody wants parking offered when they have already said no to it twice. The key was context. Family ticket? Maybe the photo package. School trip? Probably not.
Prototyping and build
Designed two approaches: cross sells when leaving, upsells when adding to basket. Kept it lean, got something live, and let the data decide.
Testing live
Launched both approaches with Cadbury and measured against baseline. Upsells outperformed cross sells significantly because they caught users at the moment of commitment rather than on the way out. That insight shaped where we focused next.
Iteration
It worked. Then we dug into the pricing research. Found that variable date pricing was causing users to backtrack and compare, so we designed new flows that showed the right price upfront depending on the pricing model. Transparent, simple, less drop off. Clients also started asking for staggered upsells to build packages, so I built that too.
The Solution
Built an upsell module that understood context and timing. Also ran pricing research that led to redesigned purchase flows, showing accurate pricing upfront based on the pricing model. Reduced backtracking, built trust, improved conversion. Plus a CMS so clients could manage their own product relationships without waiting for us.
The Outcomes
- Module rolled out across the entire DigiTickets customer base
- Pricing research led to transparent, trust building purchase flows
- Upsells outperformed cross sells by catching users at the moment of commitment
- Client onboarding reduced from days to minutes through a self serve CMS
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