Horse Racing Ireland launches WhatsApp ticket selling platform

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has launched a new service where customers will be able to purchase tickets through WhatsApp, becoming the first sporting body in Ireland to trial the “conversational selling” model.

The governing body for Irish horse racing has already activated its WhatsApp selling platform, in advance of the Irish Champions Festival which takes place across Leopardstown and the Curragh on September 9th and 10th.

Those who opt into the WhatsApp platform will receive communications with relevant content and the opportunity to buy tickets. The platform streamlines the ticket-buying process by condensing the number of steps a customer takes to get to their checkout basket.

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While the first phase of the WhatsApp selling model will provide a link for customers to make their final purchase, by Christmas HRI hopes that customers will be able to complete their entire ticket purchase through a WhatsApp conversation.

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“We’re really pleased to be able to make the announcement in terms of this innovation. We’re the first Irish sports entity to use WhatsApp as a platform for selling tickets, so we’re hopeful and excited to get it out there,” said HRI Racecourses chief executive Paul Dermody.

“We’re never going to put all our eggs in the basket of WhatsApp, but it’s just another tool and communications platform for us to make it as easy as possible for people to buy tickets,” he added.

HRI has invested €15,000 in development of the new platform, which is being delivered by Irish tech company Cloda and HRI’s existing ticketing partner Future Ticketing.

Mr Dermody said that the platform will also have the capacity to provide live updates and information to event attendees.

“Because you’ve opted in, and you’re interested in content, when it comes to the festival itself and race day when there’s so many other things happening, we can send you bespoke, relevant, timely information to your WhatsApp,” he said.

‘Ease of purchase’

The platform is particularly targeted towards 18- to 34-year-olds, as Red C research commissioned by HRI found that 58 per cent of this group are interested in attending a future race meeting and 65 per cent are interested in receiving information on horse racing events.

“There’s definitely an ease of purchase here which is going to be particularly attractive for the cohort of people that we see most opportunity to increase, which is the 18- to 34-year-olds going racing,” said Mr Dermody, adding that the HRI hopes to see a “significant percentage” of the younger cohort already on its database sign up to the WhatsApp platform.

Mr Dermody said that anecdotally they have seen a “significant uptick” in attendance from the younger age cohort in the last three years, at student days as well as events such as the Irish Grand National, Galway Races Summer Festival and Punchestown Festival.

“At every one of those, anecdotally, you could see a significantly younger cohort coming. Our challenge is to keep them coming, but to also keep them engaged in the sport while they’re there as well,” he said.