How Cardiff City FC scored a 12.5x ROI with cart abandonment triggers
Cardiff City FC is more than a football club – it’s the beating heart of the city. Before matchday, fans flock to two online destinations: the ticketing site and the retail store.
Their marketing team of five works across tickets, merchandise, hospitality and membership. With fans logging in via Bluebirds Uncaged, the single sign‑on platform, the club has a clear single view of each supporter’s activity across all channels.
But one problem was becoming hard to ignore: abandoned purchases were costing sales in both retail and ticketing.
Missing sales before the final whistle
Cardiff City FC’s marketing team could see the numbers dropping: thousands of fans were starting journeys online, adding tickets or merchandise to their cart, but never completing payment.
This lost revenue was especially critical for ticketing, with its unique time pressure. The challenge was tied to football’s time‑sensitive nature: unlike retail products, match tickets have a hard deadline. Once kickoff passes, they’re gone forever.
For James Askey, Head of Marketing, CRM, Insight & Hospitality, this meant recovering those sales wasn’t just about increasing overall revenue, it was about winning back purchases before the selling window slammed shut.
Talking to fans at the right moment
The solution had to be fast to deploy, easy to manage, and able to work across both ticketing and retail without major development overhead. With Fresh Relevance, Cardiff launched a carefully structured, two‑phase cart abandonment programme:
Phase 1: The 30‑minute reminder
Fans who leave items in their cart receive a personalised email within half an hour. It displays their cart contents and provides a direct link back to checkout, landing while interest is still fresh and purchase intent is high.
Phase 2: The 24‑hour final call
If the supporter still hasn’t purchased, a second email goes out the next day. This reminder emphasises the approaching match day and that tickets can sell quickly, pairing gentle urgency with practical support such as ticket office contact details and direct links.
This timing strategy was deliberate: the first email captures immediate intent, while the second taps into short‑term urgency, with a helpful, fan‑friendly tone throughout.
The technical setup was straightforward. CRM & Insight Executive Pete Mota handled almost the entire build using Google Tag Manager, with only minimal development work required. Within weeks, both triggers were live – and recovering lost sales straight away.
Results that speak for themselves
Cardiff’s original goal was to achieve a modest 2–3x ROI from the program. Instead, they reached 12.5x ROI.
Abandoned ticket recovery doubled compared to manual follow‑ups. Fan satisfaction ratings for the ticket buying process climbed, with consistent 4/5 scores or higher. Feedback praised the ease of securing seats online.
“We’ve proved what marketing can deliver – and that’s won us more investment to grow,” says James.
Expand the use of Fresh Relevance
With ticketing and retail triggers performing strongly, Cardiff is looking to expand its use of Fresh Relevance. Plans include browse abandonment messages, match countdown timers, and advanced personalisation driven by their single customer view.
“We’re just getting started,” James says. “Cart recovery wasn’t just about sales, it’s the first play in a much bigger gameplan.”
