International Web Funnel Redesign
Driving +30% conversion and $1B+ in annual gross order volume through human-centered design and experimentation.
Overview
When I joined Vivid Seats, the web funnel—the company's primary revenue channel—hadn't been meaningfully redesigned in years. Competitors were shipping faster, cleaner experiences, while our conversion lagged.
I led a cross-functional UX and product design initiative to redesign the end-to-end conversion funnel. By applying human-centered design, design thinking, and A/B experimentation within an Agile environment, I proved that embedded design could directly deliver a billion-dollar business impact.
The Challenge
Three core problems were blocking growth and undermining design's credibility.
Heavy Acquisition Costs
The business relied heavily on paid customer acquisition with limited retention strategies.
Underperforming Funnel
The funnel was cluttered, outdated, and underperforming compared to competitors.
Leadership Skepticism
Features launched without analytics, creating skepticism about design impact.
My Role
As Senior Manager of UX (Head of Product Design), I transformed the design organization and drove measurable business outcomes.
- 01Restructured the design org from an in-house agency into embedded squads aligned to OKRs
- 02Built strong partnerships with product and engineering, influencing roadmaps and marketplace strategy
- 03Hired, coached, and mentored designers and researchers, raising expectations on craft
- 04Stood up consumer analytics and experimentation platforms (Optimizely, Fullstory)
- 05Stayed hands-on: facilitating workshops, running usability testing, and prototyping in Figma
The Approach
Five strategic initiatives that transformed conversion and proved design's business impact.
Proving Experimentation Works
We launched our first controlled A/B test by redesigning the "deal score" on listings to encourage "hunting" for a deal. I determined the logic for how many "10 scores" appear, and the animated surprise/delight reward for when a user does find one. This early win secured leadership buy-in for additional data-driven decision making.
Performer Page Redesign
Fans struggled to find relevant events on our most-visited page.
Introduced filters, simplified hierarchy, and surfaced relevant productions.
Checkout Optimization
Friction and lack of trust signals drove abandonment at the highest rate of the entire funnel.
Iterative tests on simplified forms, urgency messaging, simplified interaction steps and trust-building summaries.
Guest Checkout
UX team dug into checkout drop-off analytics revealing 80% drop-off at mandatory account creation.
Launched guest checkout with lightweight email capture or social sign-in.
Apple Pay on PDP
Users wanted the fastest path to purchase. Old checkout required 5-10 steps.
Added Apple Pay directly on the Production page for one-click checkout.
The Outcome
Measurable results that transformed the business.
Reflection
This initiative was more than a funnel redesign—it was an organizational shift. By combining human-centered design, experimentation, and data analytics, we proved that design could deliver measurable growth.
The result wasn't just a billion-dollar revenue impact. It was a redefinition of design's role—from tactical UI delivery to strategic business partner.
Interested in learning more?
This case study represents one of many initiatives driving measurable business impact through design leadership.