Conversion Optimisation

Conversion optimisation is ­the practice of using customer behavioural data together with a cycle of testing, measuring, and improving digital products in order to optimise their revenue potential.

By understanding customer journeys and combining behavioural economics, design principles, use of psychological triggers and minimising distractions, it is possible to dramatically improve conversion rates by shaping customers decision-making pathways. By optimising our user interfaces, we can;

• Improve conversions
• Increase average order value
• Improve retention
• Reduce exit and drop-off rates
• Expedite progress to next steps
• Enhance the user experience
• Gain more complete behavioural data
• Identify high-value customers
• Get direction on key investments

My creative concepts for conversion optimisation projects in 2023/24 resulted in a combined projected uplift of €57 million (per year). Below are some recent examples of optimsation projects and their results.

Mobile Fare Cards

Problem
The objective for this conversion optimisation test was to examine the functionality of Aer Lingus ‘fare cards’ on mobile devices. The existing UI was not optimised for mobile, meaning users had to use a horizontal scroll to view different fare options. This meant that some of the fare options were hidden off-screen and behind an interaction. The question I asked was ‘How do we get all price points visible in the mobile viewport by default?’

Solution
My proposed solution was to display stacked and minimised fare cards, with fare benefits reduced in size to display as icons rather than text. This way the user has an ‘at-a-glance’, summarised view of ALL fare types, fare prices and benefits, and can quickly compare these benefits against other fares which are all visible by default.

Results
The solution tested successfully and was put into production on the Aer Lingus Website and App in 2023 with an estimated increase in annual revenue of €1.7m. Actual revenue figures after release amounted to €3.12m. Other notable metrics were:

· All variants reduced bounce rate and exit rate
· The winning variant had the lowest time on the FSR page (indicating that users could compare and select fares faster before moving on to the next step)
· Increased conversion was consistent on both short-haul (European) and long-haul (North American) routes
· Increased conversion of higher fare price-points – now visible by default.

Booking Confirmation Email

Problem
The design of the Aer Lingus Booking Confirmation email had not been revisited in almost 10 years. It lacked structure, was visually unappealing, and often left customers confused about their booking details. It also fell well below accessibility design standards, was not responsive and did not align with modern brand guidelines. So in 2023, our design team was approached to redesign and revitalise the Booking Confirmation Email.

Solution
The proposed solution was not revenue driven. This email is the first of 5 sent between booking date and travel date. The user has just come through a conversion flow and has only just made purchase decisions. So the upsell opportunity with this email was considered quite low in comparison to other post-booking emails which are sent closer to date fo travel.

The first job of the Confirmation email is to reassure the user that the booking process has concluded successfully and provide clear information about the event – Booking reference number, travel dates, what is included in the booking, actions to manage or edit the booking. So communicating that information clearly was the focus.

Results
The solution tested successfully and was launched in early 2024. The results were remarkable – web sessions from email links doubled and revenue for the first 3 months was €1.91m, €2.1m and €1.87m. The projected annual uplift in revenue is approximately €15m.

Learn more about this case study ›

Aer Lingus carry-on bags

Problem
The main objective for this test was to help our operations staff with the management of customers ‘carry-on’ bags. Overhead storage in aircraft cabins is limited, and Cabin Crew were struggling to police onboard storage. In order to limit the amount of 10kg bags being carried on board, a business decision was made to charge customers for their carry-on bag.

Solution
The proposed solution was to display 2 options to customers during the booking flow; 1. Check your 10kg bag in for free or 2. Pay a small fee to carry the 10kg bag on board and store this in the overhead compartments. There was also an educational piece to this change, as this was a baggage new policy which we had to advise customers of.

Results
After ideating on a number of potential solutions, we proposed the solution below which tested successfully and was put into production on the Aer Lingus Website and App in 2023 with an estimated increase in annual revenue of €24m.

Business fare cards

Problem
The main objective for this test was to examine and try to improve the performance of the Aer Lingus Business Class fares. Early observations were that our Business Class and Economy fares displayed the same way – a column of bullet-point fare benefits. Business Class is a premium service level, but that was not reflected on the UI.

Solution
There only 2 Business fare options, ‘Business’ and ‘Business Flex’. Most of the benefits of these fares are identical (the only difference is in fare flexibility). The proposed solution was to display the common fare benefits only once – instead of duplicating these on each fare card.

Results
After ideating and refining, we proposed the solution below which tested successfully and was put into production on the Aer Lingus Website in 2019 with an projected increase in annual revenue of €5.81m

Encourage member log in

Problem
This is a basic example of how even simple changes can have dramatic effects. Our user research shows that logged-in customers spend more and spend faster than non-logged in members. So the objective of this project was to encourage member log in as early as possible in the user flow.

Solution
We identified the Passenger information page of the booking flow as the most suitable location for a component to promote log in, as this would save the user time in terms of completing detailed passenger information.

Results
We proposed the solutions below which tested successfully and were put into production on the Aer Lingus Website in 2019 with an projected increase in annual revenue of €8.76m.

AerClub loyalty programme sign up

Problem
The objective for this test was to examine and try to improve the sign-up rates for the Aer Lingus loyalty programme – AerClub. Much of the sign-up information had not changed since the programme was first launched in 2016, so we were asked to look at what could be done to try improve member sign-up.

Solution
In the period since its inception, AerClub has made a number of strategic partnerships which were not being publicised. We felt the wider benefits of being an AerClub member were not being highlighted enough, so we took the approach of trying to educate potential new members with a suite of promotional components.

Results

· We redesigned the original registration flows to remove redundant steps
· Removed requests for unnecessary information
· Sign-up errors, time-outs and drop-offs reduced
· Mobile sign-up improved
· This simplified the registration flow and made sign-up much faster and easier.

When this project began in 2020, there were just over 1 million AerClub accounts. In 2024 – AerClub account numbers have increased to 2.78m accounts.

Travel Insurance

Problem
The objectives for this test were two-fold – 1. Make this component responsive, and 2. Try to improve the uptake of the Travel Insurance product on the Aer Lingus booking flow.

Solution
The old UI had not been reviewed since a website redesign in 2015, so this component needed to be updated to work better on mobile devices. So any new design layouts and copy needed to be mobile-friendly.

Result
This project is a great example of how even simple changes can make a big difference to legibility and comprehension. Having a background in insurance, I felt that the Travel Insurance benefits might sound unclear or ambiguous to people who were not familiar with these terms. The benefits were not being properly explained, so we simply added one line of explainer text to provide better contextual information, on the insurance covers, increased the spacing between those and removed an unnecessary image. This approach tested favorably. Take-up rates improved by almost 25% with a projected uplift in revenue of €393,564.

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