Hippo provides technology for the app of the year for Virgin Trains Ticketing
The Editor
Hippo, a leading digital services provider, has a strategic partnership with Virgin Trains Ticketing, the rail ticketing app that has revolutionised train travel by offering customers a seamless way to book train travel and save money at the same time. Travellers that book any train ticket across Great Britain via Virgin Trains Ticketing earn three Virgin Points for every £1 spent, and points can be put towards all or part of the cost of your next journey.
Hippo’s collaboration with Virgin Trains Ticketing will further enhance its service delivery and customer experiences whilst also accelerating ticket sales. The app was recognised at the recent UK eCommerce Awards 2023, winning App of the Year.
Judges at the awards were “particularly impressed by the creative elements woven throughout the app” and how “the products they are offering are highly beneficial to customers”.
As a challenger brand, Virgin Trains Ticketing offers customers the unique opportunity to earn points with every purchase, save money through split ticketing, zero booking fees on all tickets, and use points to unlock discounts on future train travel. Last year, Hippo was engaged to support with Virgin Trains Ticketing’s backend development, product management, delivery, data science and engineering capabilities. This move aimed to supplement the incumbent app developer Brightec and to scale the program for increased feature development in 2023.
One of the key milestones achieved through this partnership is the integration of a system allowing customers to redeem Virgin Points when purchasing train tickets, a feature previously unavailable in the market. This innovative step, along with improvements to data strategy and customer engagement dashboards, has positioned Virgin Trains Ticketing as a pioneer in digital transportation.
Virgin Trains Ticketing has observed remarkable growth since January 2023 with thousands of new customers using the app, 80% of whom are converting to Virgin Red and ticket sales growing exponentially with each passing month. The successful launch of split-ticketing functionality and Google Wallet integration are among the enhancements that have improved user experience.
Mark Plowright, director of Virgin Trains Ticketing, says: “We’re thrilled that Virgin Trains Ticketing and Hippo have collaborated to offer our customers a high-quality and award-winning product, making train travel more rewarding and helping people save money. We look forward to driving future innovations, including the addition of Live Departure information, promotional offers and Virgin ID login integration.”
Liz Whitefield, director (pictured) at Hippo, said: "Harnessing years of experience designing and building people-first digital services at scale across government, we're delighted to have helped Virgin Trains Ticketing to scale its delivery capabilities in a challenging and competitive market. We're looking forward to a long relationship with Virgin Trains Ticketing".
Virgin Trains Ticketing and Hippo are committed to continuing their collaborative efforts to provide an exceptional service that meets the needs of modern travellers and sets new standards in the transportation industry.
