From blind spots to better journeys

How c2c Railway improved its mobile app experience with Alchemer Digital
A woman wearing a hat and backpack looks up at a large digital departures board in an airport, holding her phone in one hand as sunlight streams through the windows, planning her journey on the c2c railway.

c2c Railway was on the wrong track when it came to understanding its customers’ digital journeys, ticket sales told part of the story, but fragmented feedback and low app store ratings left them in the dark. By implementing Alchemer Digital, c2c pulled all passenger insights into one streamlined view, fast-tracked app improvements, boosted ratings, and guided its customer experience toward the right destination.

“Alchemer is easy to use, straightforward, and simple. We don’t have our own development team, so every small change usually requires a long process. Alchemer cuts through all that and gives us instant results.”

— Enyidado Owusu, Senior Business Analyst, c2c Railway Limited

About c2c Railway

c2c Railway is a leading rail operator in the UK. c2c’s route runs from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness and is dedicated to enhancing the social and economic impact of the railway. Its passengers range from daily commuters traveling into London to leisure travelers heading to seaside destinations. Transporting 37.3 million people every year, they focus on providing an exceptional passenger experience and leading the industry in environmental sustainability.

c2c does more than just get people from point A to point B. Its ticketing platform makes it easy for customers to book journeys not only on its own network, but across other railways and destinations too. Every day, thousands of passengers count on C2C for a smooth ride. That’s why its success depends on delivering a ticketing experience that feels effortless, whether at the station or on the go through its iOS and Android mobile apps.

Several modern passenger trains are parked on parallel tracks at a train yard, with metal walkways and stairs providing access. Overhead electric wires and a clear blue sky are visible in the background.

Challenges: Gaps in customer feedback and low app ratings

Before 2021, c2c faced a major visibility gap in understanding its customers’ digital experiences. Passengers could buy tickets in five different channels—ticket vending machines, the mobile app, the website, handheld devices at train stations, and in-person ticket counters. While the company collected feedback from its website and ticket vending machines, they weren’t capturing customer feedback from their iOS and Android apps, one of its most important sales and service channels. “We were blind to what people were doing on the app,” says Senior Business Analyst Enyidado Owusu. For c2c, that meant they could see sales, but not experiences.

Omnichannel feedback keeps your customer journey on track. Miss even one touchpoint, and you’re left with an incomplete picture—making decisions that feel out of line with what customers actually need. That was c2c’s challenge. With tickets sold through multiple channels, the company needed a way to bring those experiences together into one clear view.

Meanwhile, c2c’s app store ratings dragged, driven by a vocal minority, only the happiest or angriest customers bothered to leave reviews. “We needed more context behind the star ratings, and our reviews were skewed because the silent majority wasn’t leaving ratings. It was mostly people who were very happy or very unhappy,” explains Enyidado.

Solution

On the recommendation of a trusted agency partner, c2c implemented Alchemer to bring real-time customer insights directly from the app into the heart of their decision-making process.

How c2c uses Alchemer:

A person with a backpack stands on a c2c railway platform, holding a yellow suitcase and checking their phone. The tracks are empty, and the sun is shining brightly in the background.

Key Outcomes

The results spoke for themselves.

  • Significant improvement in app store ratings – Within months of implementation, c2c’s app ratings jumped from around 2.9 to 4.0 on Android and 4.5 on iOS, where they’ve remained stable.
  • Faster problem resolution – Feedback surfaces issues (e.g., payment glitches, UX friction) within minutes of a release, enabling rapid fixes.
  • Smarter product roadmap – Direct customer feedback has driven major UX improvements, such as:
    • Streamlining ticket purchasing for repeat commuters—reducing the number of clicks to checkout.
    • Simplifying Apple Pay transactions by removing redundant postcode entry.
  • Better customer engagement – Proactive prompts keep users informed, reducing avoidable negative sentiment and improving trust during maintenance, strikes, or disruptions.
  • Stronger team alignment – Regularly comparing app feedback with other channels helps the product, digital and customer relations teams work from a shared understanding of customer needs.

Conclusion

For c2c Railway Limited, listening to customers isn’t just a box to check, it’s a daily practice that shapes the journey from app login to arrival at the station. By leveraging Alchemer Digital, c2c transformed its ability to listen, respond and adapt to customer needs in real time. The result is not only higher app ratings and smoother ticketing experiences, but also stronger trust and alignment with both commuters and leisure travelers.

As c2c continues to evolve, its digital channels will remain central to achieving its mission: delivering one of the best ticket-buying experiences in the UK rail industry.

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