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Delivering measurable CX transformation:

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increase in online membership: Increasing revenue by an estimated $750,000 annually.

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increase in ticket sales: Thanks to seamless integration of 24/7 digital CX and physical CX/PoS.

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increase in average ‘dwell time’ on website: Customers love the new UX of the site.

The Perth Zoo CX transformation was a strategic, holistic and human-centred design initiative focused on deeply understanding, then enhancing, the customer experience across all digital and physical touchpoint for every visitor before, during - and after - their engagement with the Zoo.

Services

Digital Strategy (CX)

Stakeholder Engagement

Workshop Facilitation

eCommerce

Integrations

Digital Design

Technologies

Kentico

Digital solutions

Transforming Perth Zoo's digital landscape for seamless visitor experiences

“Dapth transformed Perth Zoo to a 24 hour business… it’s not just a transfer from onsite to online sales activity…sales increased 77%, with the biggest growth seen in products featured for an upsell with admission. Online Membership sales increased 49% compared again without cannibalising onsite sales...”

Claire Wright, Perth Zoo

Perth Zoo is one of Perth’s most iconic and popular places to visit - they promote conservation, while offering guests a unique experience to get up close and personal to some seriously amazing animals. As they had been operating for over 100 years, it was no surprise their customer experience before, during and after visiting, had fallen far behind rising customer expectations, so was devaluing the brand.
 
When we started customers could not buy a ticket beforehand. They absolutely could not buy on their mobile phone and just walk in - they had to show up and line up, in person. This meant on a Saturday morning all spare hands were selling tickets, instead of being with the animals, plus it created long, boring, queue times for customers which for those with small children, was far from the memory-making experience the brand promised.

This meant the brand wasn’t meeting expectations almost from the very first moments - and this was really impacting the viability of the Zoo – with Memberships and repeat visitation dropping dramatically year on year.
 
Perth Zoo was aware that their issues were deep and complex and that would require an expert team to assist. There was a growing awareness that to meet the highest possible standards of CX meant that the technology foundation on which the communication and booking systems were built had to be completely reengineered to enable the desired results –   immediate ticket sales uplift and longer-term brand uplift.
 
Our team were awarded the project through a stringent tender process, with the team having reviewed our overall approach, design and technical capability, as well as our key personnel, methods and cost frameworks. This was the start of our partnering with the Zoo on their overarching digital strategy for the past three years.
 
Rather than approaching this as a traditional, somewhat isolated CX uplift, this project was a strategic, system-wide transformation that boldly reimagined a new world of blended digital and physical experiences, grounded in robust qualitative research, data analytics, service and experience design, underpinned by robust, future-fit technology. In short it was a whole-of-business engagement and CX transformation.

The process

Empowering users with advanced ticketing technology

Customer Insights & Qualitative Research

We began by engaging directly with well-defined visitor types, experienced staff and senior stakeholders through interviews, co-design workshops and journey mapping sessions. Our qualitative research uncovered key pain points and unmet needs, informing every stage of the transformation. Rapid prototyping and ongoing user testing ensured new solutions were validated and resonated with real people and addressed their JTBD and key priorities. 

Data Analytics & Experience Metrics

Leveraging analytics, we tracked and measured customer behaviours and sentiment throughout the project. This data-driven approach enabled us to identify opportunities for improvement, validate design decisions and demonstrate tangible impact.

Service & Experience Design

Our team designed and delivered entirely new journeys that seamlessly integrated digital services with refined on-site experiences. Every touchpoint - from pre-purchase to ticket purchase to the arrival experience to on-ground navigation - was reimagined to surprise and delight guests, foster advocacy, support the Zoo’s mission and crucially, to encourage a desire to have repeat visits.

Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy

We facilitated collaborative workshops with Zoo leadership, frontline teams and partners, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy and brand values. This inclusive approach built buy-in and empowered staff to champion the new experiences. While formal NPS tracking is ongoing, initial feedback indicates a significant uplift in visitor satisfaction and brand perception.

The challenge was not to simply sell tickets, but to successfully integrate into a 20-year-old point of sale system.

The Perth Zoo ticketing and booking system remains the most active our team has ever seen! The number of users and data transfer taking place is considerable. Our challenge was not just to keep this data accurate as it moves between systems, but to keep it fast too. 

The current system lacked in performance and didn’t encourage users to purchase tickets and book events online, instead opting to either call the Zoo or purchase at the front counter. This meant that the Zoo needed additional staff at the front counters to manage all the on-the-day sales. 

We wanted a visitor standing at the gates to be able to purchase a ticket on their mobile, and then within minutes be able to walk in.  Or even better, make the decision to book tickets the night before, while sitting on the couch watching a documentary on animals. 

At the same time, staff needed instantaneous updates if that same guest booked into one of the optional sessions available throughout the day. Perth Zoo also relied heavily upon InTouch, a point-of-sale ticketing system used at their front counters all year round. Our team needed to integrate the website with the ticketing system so all purchasing information was instantly reflected on their main database.

A transformative impact

The website needed to convert visitors into attendees

It was clear that the new website needed to be built in a way that staff internally could fully rely on the system and manage all the content and data with ease themselves and ensure that the Customer Experience (CX) was one that supported an intuitive purchasing journey,  catering for all the possible size of groups and the myriad ways a user may like to purchase a ticket or book an event (or do both).

Our team wanted to remove the daily reliance on internal developers and empower the staff at Perth Zoo to fully own and manage their own communications website. This would reduce on-going management costs and increase the ability to make content updates on the site so that visitors had the latest information as soon as it was available.


The website features that created a quiet revolution

Our team forged an intuitive solution that enabled people to have the opportunity to experience the Zoo and, by developing a robust ticket management system, find it desirable and easy to book events through a live calendar for purchasing and dynamic reservation functionality. All of which the internal teams could monitor and track attendance peaks and troughs to resource against.

  • Designed Live ticket & Stock management. Synced with Point of Sale software, this is linked with a custom API (to connect purchases online to InTouch, the industry standard PoS - a visitor can purchase a ticket anywhere at any time) instantaneously gaining access to the Zoo.
  • Session holding shopping cart. The new website can temporarily hold items in the cart while the user is checking out, so someone else doesn’t purchase the last spot while they are still browsing.
  • Interaction for a better visitor experience. Using an interactive map, visitors can plan their day plus view additional information about exhibits and animals, extending their stay and enjoyment of the experience – it encourages longer stays and, as it turns out, Membership.
  • Memberships and account management. Customers can track their past purchases and manage upcoming booked events.
  • Marketing automation for winners. Automated reminder emails to customers when bookings are coming up, new exhibitions, or renewal of Membership, building a relationship rather than a series of transactions.
  • As part of the Strategic Review (based on Research insights and User/Organisational needs)  the team had recommended Kentico CMS to manage website content. As a secure and stable platform that’s highly cost effective with world-leading features, we were able to leverage it to the fullest - using the skills of our CX/UX designers and our specialist software developer team, many of whom are accredited ‘Gold’ Kentico experts.

Brand Building & Long-Term Impact

By focusing on human-centred design, the transformation strengthened Perth Zoo’s brand as a leader in conservation, education and memorable visitor experiences. Brand and reputation increased overnight, with people going online shortly after their experience to commit to an Annual Membership. 
 
This project established a foundation for ongoing innovation, with scalable data structures and integrated systems supporting future growth.

Services Delivered:

  • Digital (CX) Strategy
  • Qualitative research and user interviews
  • Data analytics and experience measurement
  • Service and experience design
  • User testing and validation
  • Stakeholder engagement and strategic facilitation
  • eCommerce and systems integration (API’s)

This transformation demonstrates the power of human-centred CX design to create mutual value. Delivering measurable business results while building deeper, lasting relationships with every Zoo visitor and creating building lasting memories for a new generation of families and children.

These outcomes show strong alignment with the strategic and delivery priorities of the enterprise:

  • Transforming from transaction into a richer experience: Perth Zoo’s transformation reimagined a traditionally transactional visit into a connected, emotionally resonant experience across the full visitor journey - before, during and after the visit.
  • Driving behaviour change through emotionally intelligent, human-centred design: This project used qualitative research, journey mapping and prototyping to deeply understand visitor motivations and anxieties. The result: a user experience designed to surprise, delight and encourage loyalty: as evidenced by a 49% increase in Membership and 77% uplift in ticket sales.
  • Seamless omni-channel integration: Perth Zoo’s solution integrated 24/7 online ticketing, live inventory and point-of-sale systems, a responsive website with interactive maps, guides and information, along with automated communication streams - delivering a unified, user-led experience.
  • Platform potential and future-fit infrastructure: This project was underpinned by a modern architecture (Kentico CMS, integrated APIs, live ticketing and automation) designed for evolution. The outcome is a future-ready foundation supporting continuous innovation, operational efficiency and richer customer engagement.
  • Public value and community responsibility: Perth Zoo is public-facing entities with civic responsibilities. This project delivered measurable business value while also strengthening the Zoo’s educational and conservation mission - reaffirming its role as a beloved 
     WA institution, with increased public visitation, brand trust and repeat engagement.
  • Deep stakeholder collaboration: The Perth Zoo transformation was delivered through a close partnership with internal stakeholders—marketing, digital, visitor experience and executive leadership. Collaborative workshops ensured buy-in and alignment, while empowering internal teams to manage and evolve the solution with autonomy.

We transform

Transforming organisations across WA

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