TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is one of the leading innovators in German football. Under its motto ‘TSG ist Bewegung’ (English: TSG is movement), the club is using modern technologies to shape the future of competitive sports and to optimise processes throughout the club’s corporate side. A special focus is the customer journey for fans, members and visitors. From buying tickets and merchandise to ordering food from concession stands at the PreZero Arena, the goal is to make everything quick and easy. TSG aims to inspire its fans at every touchpoint.

Developing the right payment tactic for every channel

As a top Bundesliga contender, TSG Hoffenheim is not only a football club. It is also an organiser of major events and a merchant with various sales channels. Optimising the various touchpoints that TSG has with its fans is a major challenge, one that also extends to payment processing.

Whether buying tickets, browsing the fan shop or the TSG fan app for deals or ordering food and drink at stadium concession stands, fans expect a simple and fast payment process. TSG needs to offer all relevant payment methods in every sales channel if it wishes to optimise the customer experience and increase sales.

So the Bundesliga club went looking for a payment partner that could offer solutions for all its sales channels from a single source and provide valuable impetus to help drive the club’s ongoing digital transformation. With Unzer’s help, TSG has now been perfecting its payment process step by step since 2023.

Innovation, sustainability, a pioneering spirit – that is what drives TSG. We consider ourselves fortunate to work with partners who share these values.

Denni Strich, CEO Sales, Marketing, Media & Communication, TSG Hoffenheim

Quicker and easier payment at contactless POS terminals

Match days are all about the game and the emotions. They are an opportunity for fans to experience the Hoffenheim brand up close and personal. A pleasant payment journey in the fan shop and at the concession stands in the stadium are a big part of making the experience positive for fans. To offer visitors fast and easy payments throughout the stadium, TSG now relies on high-performance POS terminals from Unzer.

Depending on the situation, both mobile MOVE/5000 and stationary DESK/5000 terminals are used at the points of sale. The NFC-enabled terminals allow visitors to pay in seconds with their payment card, smartphone or smartwatch. The upshot: shorter queues for fans and more revenue for the club. Both terminals feature a space-saving design and are easy for staff to operate.

The TSG fan app acts as another building block in the digitalisation of the club’s checkout processes by enabling mobile orders. Stadium visitors can use the app to pre-order food and drinks on their smartphones and pick them up during half-time. Thanks to Unzer, app users can pay with all popular payment methods, including Blue Code, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa and Mastercard.

In addition to inspiring our fans on the pitch, we want to continue to improve their visit to our stadium. POS terminals from Unzer help us keep the half-time queues at concession stands as short as possible.

Denni Strich, CEO Sales, Marketing, Media & Communication, TSG Hoffenheim

Generating more sales with ‘Buy now, pay later’

Hoffenheim fans can find everything their football hearts desire at the official TSG fan shop, from official jerseys and accessories to home furnishings in the club’s blue-and-white design. Here, too, a smooth checkout process is crucial for ensuring customer satisfaction and driving sales. In order to increase the conversion rate on the online fan shop, TSG decided to integrate white label invoice payments into the SAP Commerce Cloud shop system.

As a specialist in BNPL payment methods, Unzer was able to implement a fully customised solution for TSG Hoffenheim. Fans now enjoy a checkout experience and all subsequent communication in the TSG Hoffenheim look and feel. As the payment provider, Unzer remains invisible, managing all processes behind the scenes. Seamless white label invoice payments minimise cart abandonment rates while deepening fans’ confidence in the TSG Hoffenheim brand at the same time.

The range of payment options in the brick-and-mortar fan shop at the PreZero Arena has also been expanded with Unzer’s help. Shoppers can now choose between invoice payment and payment by instalments here as well. What is striking is that with both BNLP payment methods, payments are processed just as smoothly in the store as they are online. All payment details are captured digitally and credit checks are performed in real time, so the paperless purchases take only moments.

Bringing first-class payment to every touchpoint

It goes without saying that smooth payment processing is also essential for advance ticket sales. The integration of Unzer into the SAP ticketing module is currently being prepared. This move will ultimately offer the fans all their preferred payment methods and a uniform payment experience across all channels – for online, mobile, and stationary ticket sales.

As a special offer, B2B customers will be able to use ‘buy now, pay later’ payment methods when purchasing business tickets, box seats and special VIP packages, reflecting the fact that invoice payments are the preferred payment method for business customers.

In summary, with Unzer at its side, TSG Hoffenheim is improving the customer experience at every touchpoint. Unzer’s unified payment platform is enabling the Bundesliga club to successively connect its brick-and-mortar and digital sales and identify new growth potential thanks to cross-channel insights.

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