'We know we can offer a win-win situation' Jim Cremin on the development of the Racing Post's digital Betting Shop Display.

FEEDBACK from the initial batch of shops that have been testing digital versions of Racing Post's Betting Shop Display has been most encouraging.

Of course, as one Croydon manager, Paddy Power's Paul Richards, says (below right) in a Shop in Focus feature, they are a "work in progress", but the potential has already been identified as enormous and the essence for us is to identify what works and what doesn't.

We are in the middle of analysis being conducted by Gaming Media Solutions of consumer and staff reaction, and will then commence further trials. It is exciting because we know we can offer a win-win situation for all concerned, a better and more up-to-date product for punters, but, in association with SIS, also a mechanism to grow the business for bookmakers.

Mark Flood, business development manager at the Racing Post, says: "We are proud of the fact that we are first to market with a trial and are ravenous for feedback that will help us improve this into a real product that the punters love and the bookmakers see as beneficial to their business, hence we have appointed an external company to perform the research.

"We could rush out a product, but instead we are going to revise the current offering, re-trial and then bring a product to the market that has been thoroughly tested.

We don't want to penalise the early adopters by getting them to pay for something that will have to be refined - but that said, we believe the final version will offer a significant advantage.

"I am excited about the improvements that we are putting through on the greyhound and racing products, and the football and touch-screen products that are coming on stream are going to be fantastic." Flood adds: "We and SIS are also spending a lot of time researching the screens and hardware with 10squared, our screen suppliers. Some low-resolution screens (carry less content than high resolution) that are not very expensive today, may become scarcer in the future, and we don't see any point in designing products for a low-resolution screen that may ultimately cost more than a high-resolution screen in the near future.

"Also, the screens will be a long-term investment on behalf of bookmakers and we want to be able to look them in the eye and tell them that the screen will be flexible to cater not just for the product we have today but for all products that may come on-stream in the future.

"Feedback has been positive.

The customer journey has become less fragmented as they can now see all live data on their racecards; non-runners, jockey changes, live prices, reserve info, results, etc. We have essentially come full circle, back to the day when the board marker marked the card ... punters do love that feel to it.

"Ultimately, we think the shop will need a combination of the smaller one-one touch screen and the larger one-to-many screens currently being trialled. We will also be feeding back a lot of live data from the track that will make punters in the shop feel they are at the races.

"We are working hard on introducing further elements that create the all-important 'wow' factor, bearing in mind the 80-20 rule; ie. 80 per cent of customer eyeballs are normally focused on the next event, and the screens will allow us to supply more content around the next event at all times.

"But, best of all, it's fun for everyone involved, and I'm grateful to all the managers helping with the trials. I've enjoyed reading what Amanda and Paul have had to say on these pages; their comments are all part of the process."

CAPTION(S):

The digital Racing Post Betting Shop Display, which is on trial in selected shops, is a "work in progress" but has already received favourable comment