The University of Texas Soccer program offers both day and overnight camps for girls and boys. They come from across the nation to hone their skills by working with one of the best soccer staffs in the country. As one of the most widely known universities, having an easy-to-use system for registration, marketing and merchandise sales is imperative.
Prior to using ACTIVEWorks Camp & Class Manager’s merchandise tool, adding in gear for purchase was a tedious, time-consuming task for Camp Director Alex Kraus. Now, it can be entered in a fraction of the time to bring in additional revenue for the program.
Increased Revenue
Over the past year of using Camp & Class Manager’s merchandise tool, University of Texas’ soccer camp has seen a 40-percent increase in number of items sold, as well as an increase in the average amount spent per camper on merchandise.
“The pre-purchase of camp items has been better than it ever has before,” Kraus says. “Since adopting the program in 2016, the average customer is spending $34 on merchandise per camper, whereas before they were only spending $27 per camper.”
Kraus also says that with the ease in which he can now add variations, he expects merchandise sales to continue to rise and to be nimbler in item offerings to take advantage of current trends.
Overall, the camp has seen a 7.6-percent increase in additional revenue from merchandise sales, bringing its total retail revenue to$30,941.
Brand Awareness
Although University of Texas merchandise is available world-wide, one of the few ways to purchase specific Texas Soccer gear is through their camp so it is important for them to offer a variety of items, styles and sizes.
“Not only is it a great way for us to upsell, it’s another way to establish brand awareness,” Kraus says.
Initially, the camp only sold three variations of T-shirts and a soccer bag. This year, they are offering 16 items including T-shirts in multiple colors and sizes, Dri-FIT gear, UT-branded soccer balls and much more.
“We get a lot of value in being able to get our Texas Soccer brand out in front of people, it’s a form of marketing for both our camp and our soccer program,” Kraus says.
A True Partnership
When you work with ACTIVE, you are getting a partner to help with your growth and success. While using Camp & Class Manager, Kraus says his experience has been outstanding.
“The thing I love most about ACTIVE is [the support staff is]always responsive,” Kraus says. “They are always great about reaching out and being receptive to our feedback.”
He says he appreciates how ACTIVE is always working to improve the product, particularly the updates on the merchandise tool.
“I’m not kidding; it probably saved me anywhere from twenty to thirty hours entering the products.”
Moving Forward
In the future, Kraus and the rest of the UT Soccer staff hope to continue expanding awareness of the camp to reach as many people as possible.
“It’s important for us that we continue our marketing efforts and doing things like selling merchandise,” Kraus says. “ACTIVE helps us do that.”
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