Boosting mobile conversions by 138% for Reading’s Theatre
Chris Godby
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Posted Oct 31, 2025
Redesigned mobile booking journey, boosting conversions by 138% and adding over £100k yearly revenue.
Turning Mobile Abandonment Into an Extra £105K Annual Recurring Revenue
Reading Rep's marketing was working brilliantly. Thousands of visitors reached their show pages every month.
But over 70% abandoned at checkout.
Great shows. Strong traffic. Yet most visitors left between "Choose Seats" and "Purchase."
Over 75% of people leaving during checkout
The Investigation
Analytics told us where people dropped off.
Session recordings showed us why.
I watched hundreds of real booking attempts unfold:
Using real-time data to see why people leave
What the recordings revealed:
Mobile users (75% of their traffic) were wrestling with an outdated desktop-first checkout along with missed opportunities:
8-step process felt arduous
Buttons and primary actions positioned poorly
Navbar provided too many exit points
Guest checkout felt like a login page
plus many more!
Every friction point = £40-60 in lost revenue walking away.
My team and I have spent 1000's of hours learning why people don't buy
The Results
We benchmarked a 6-week period before and after launch.
138% mobile conversion increase
53% overall conversion lift
£105K additional annual revenue (forecasted)
We took benchmarks before and after a 6 week period and continue to test and improve.
"We knew our website drove 90% of sales, but had no idea how many people were abandoning at checkout. It was shocking to see how much revenue we were losing—all because of fixable problems."
— Nick Thompson, Executive Director, Reading Rep