Case Study 01

Checkout Funnel Optimization Audit

Overview

The New York Philharmonic’s 2026–27 season announcement with Gustavo Dudamel marked a major cultural milestone. While marketing efforts successfully brought in 17k new users on launch day, the org saw a very low conversion rate from this cohort of 1.6%.

This audit reviews user paths, interface layouts, and device-specific behaviors to pinpoint why historic hype did not translate into proportional transactional revenue.

Role
Lead Strategist

Timeline
March 2026 → May 2026

Objective
To identify conversion bottlenecks within the entry paths, information architecture, and checkout funnels.

Tools: Silverstripe CMS, GA4, Looker Studio, Figma, Google Workspace
Skills: UX Research, Data Analysis, Report Building, Content Strategy

The Challenge

Marketing generated immense interest in Dudamel’s arrival, resulting in 21K total launch day users, but the website structure and content bottlenecked that demand.

Critical Performance Gaps:

  • Audience Segments

    • First-Time Visitors: 84.1% of all launch-day traffic.

    • Returning Visitors: 15.9% of all launch-day traffic.

    • The Problem: Severe conversion discrepancies between the two segments, signaling potential IA barriers for users unfamiliar with the booking paths.

  • Mobile UI Barrier

    • Top-of-Funnel Traffic: 2,359 mobile users vs. 2,708 desktop users.

    • Completed Purchases: 142 mobile checkouts vs. 509 desktop checkouts.

    • The Problem: Significant drop in completed mobile transactions despite similar initial interest to desktop.

User Journey Friction

Cohort 01

  • Majority of Traffic
    Drove the vast majority of launch-day visits.

  • High Motivation
    Drawn to the ecosystem by massive external press and cultural momentum.

  • System Unfamiliarity
    Had zero prior experience navigating the platform's booking mechanics.

  • Lacking Mental Models
    Struggled with complex ticketing structures, package tiers, and on-sale cadences.

First-Time Visitors

Cohort 02

Returning Visitors

  • Highly Loyal Core
    Consisted of returning patrons with long-term platform relationships.

  • Extreme Persistence
    Logged on early and repeatedly refreshed the page leading up to the 10:00 AM launch.

  • High-Value Intent
    Focused specifically on securing premium, customized subscription packages.

  • Strong Mental Models
    Leveraged prior platform experience to bypass early landing page friction.

I investigated whether this conversion failure was an information architecture flaw, an interface layout issue, or a technical breakdown across devices and user groups.

Enters Funnel via Landing Pages

1

59.83% of new users bounced because they expected immediate single tickets but could only access subscription packages.

50.24% of return users advanced because their learned behavior and familiarity with the web structure.

Seat Selection

2

97.59% conversion wall for new users due to a dense, mobile-unfriendly seating chart paired with unexpected launch-day premium pricing.

92.98% drop-off, proving the desktop-first seating chart was a systemic layout flaw that even return users would not tolerate.

Checkout & Payment

3

31 new users reached the checkout page; mobile traffic drop-off heavily outpaced desktop here.

94 returning users reached the checkout page, heavily skewing toward desktop platforms.

Conversion & Post-Purchase

4

0.78% total conversion rate of new users proves high buying intent was squandered by interface bottlenecks rather than a lack of interest.

Saved account info made the final click easy for a 2.85% conversion rate, but upstream friction severely capped overall revenue from our most valuable segment.

Impact

Translating Insights Into Strategy

By identifying the friction points within the seat map, the inconsistent booking rules, and the site wide messaging, this study provided the UX insights needed to transform an unintuitive transaction flow into a cohort-aware digital ecosystem.

Recommendation 01

Mobile-optimized seat selection. Bring the pricing tiers and seat selections above the fold to alleviate labor needed to understand seat map by new and mobile users.

The Goal
Remove the 97.59% mobile conversion wall by designing an interface built for small viewports.

Recommendation 02

Unify seat selection logic. Currently, users face jarring inconsistencies: specific seat selection is completely disabled in Curated Series, blocked via certain Choose-Your-Own (CYO) tools, but allowed if a CYO package is built directly from the calendar layout.

The Goal
Create a more rigid system for seat selection so users never have to guess when or how they can choose their seats.

Recommendation 03

Implement a cohort-aware content strategy during the subscription windows, offering lead generations and discovery driven pathways upon entry.

The Goal
Capture the 59.83% of first-time visitors who currently bounce immediately upon encountering subscription-only messaging.

Recommendation 04

Audit the subscription funnel itself. Initial data confirms that the strict rules, mandatory packages, and complex pricing tiers built into the system created an additional web of bottlenecks.

The Goal
Uncover how backend business rules are creating usability bottlenecks, allowing us to refactor the entire subscription checkout flow from the ground up.