How Digital Is The Great Outdoors?

To enjoy the great outdoors and the greenery that along goes with it, consumers do not mind parting with some green — but they’d like to do it digitally.

Joint research from Paysafe and Amilia shows that more than half of those surveyed in the United States would be inclined to take greater advantage of parks and recreational facilities if those offerings had online registration systems in place. The figure stands at 48 percent for Canadians.

All in all, 62 percent of those surveyed across the United States and Canada said that parks and recreation offerings represent an important factor in where they choose to live.

In the U.S., another 14 percent said that payment options were limited — typically to check, cash or cards — and represented what the research found to be barriers in current registration protocols. Another 17 percent stated lack of registration reminders served as a hindrance to increased park and recreational (P&R) use.

In a statement tied to the report’s debut, Carla Erlick, senior vice president of Business Development and Sales at Paysafe, said that “from online to mobile payments and digital wallets, consumers now expect the same diversity of choice with their local P&R department as they experience when shopping online for other services. By making the shift toward digital accessibility and payments, P&R departments can drive better citizen engagement and increase the usage of their parks and recreational facilities.”

Among the findings from the report, a majority of residents were in favor of parks and recreation facilities offering online bookings, registrations and payments. At the same time, many patrons are unaware that such services are on offer or could be offered.