Boston Symphony harmonizes shopping on its new web site

A new web site unveiled in May by the Boston Symphony Orchestra puts sales of subscriptions, tickets and merchandise, as well as donations, all on a single platform. That makes it easier for customers and orchestra to track the status of each order.

The new site also incorporates audio and video, allowing customers to hear the music that will be played at upcoming concerts or on CDs for sale in the gift shop, and to see what the view will be like from the seats they buy. And more ambitious video plans are in the works, that ultimately will allow customers to watch concerts on their PCs, says Rich Bradway, associate director of e-commerce and new media.

This is the second full redesign of the web site, which went live in 1996. The first redesign, in 2001, allowed real-time processing of orders for subscriptions and tickets. But separate systems for donations and merchandise purchases required manual processing.

That meant customers often would not know when they could expect their merchandise, which especially caused consternation during the holiday season. For instance, last year the symphony found a lot of interest in fancy pens fabricated from the century-old wood floors of the old Symphony Hall. But because the fulfillment process was not tied into the web platform, it was hard for customers to know when their orders were shipped.

“A lot of this happened around the holidays, when a lot of people were supremely interested in when their orders would be fulfilled and when they could give them as gifts,” Bradway says.

Integrating merchandise sales required some extra effort because the Boston Symphony uses an application called Tessitura developed by Impresario, an offshoot of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. That software is designed for cultural organizations and accommodates ticketing, fundraising and customer service, but not merchandise sales. Custom development was required to add those sales to the platform so that both the orchestra and customers can get a full view of everything an individual has ordered or donated.

Among the new features of the web site is a video player that lets visitors hear up to three minutes of music that will be featured at upcoming events or from CDs on sale at the gift shop. In the works, Bradway says, are digital downloads of music and subscriptions for viewing concerts via the web.

The Boston Symphony took in $5.8 million online during its fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2006, of which $5.5 million came from subscriptions and tickets and about $100,000 each from merchandise, gift certificates and donations. He says merchandise sales have already hit $150,000 during this fiscal year, in large part because of the wood Symphony Hall pens and a successful CD.

The symphony’s gift shop offers 300 to 400 items, mostly CDs, but also apparel, mugs and books. He says the site gets 5.5 million visits per year, and estimates unique visitors are about 55% of that number.

Bradway says the site redesign cost nearly $1 million, of which $700,000 was funded by an anonymous gift. Bowman Design Inc. handled the site design and the underlying web platform is provided by Art Technology Group Inc.