UK retail giant Go Outdoors launches activities website

The UK’s largest retailer of outward bound equipment is poised to launch its own trips and tours website to capitalise on its standing in the sector.

The UK’s largest retailer of outdoor equipment is poised to launch its own trips and tours website to capitalise on its standing in the sector.

Go Outdoors has 31 stores around the UK, mostly in large units away from city and town centre, and its website generates 300,000 unique users each week.

The new website Go Activities will seek to marry up the reason its customers buy the kit with a booking platform for activities that require the equipment.

Mike Griffin, founder of Go Activities, told a Small Fish Big Ocean World Travel Market Pitch Night in London: “What outdoors retailers in general have never been good at is being interested in what people do with that kit when they leave the building.

“Our consumers are not always the really strong outdoors people. We thought there was an incredible opportunity to improve access to people to actually get outdoors.”

The site will allow users to book accommodation and activities and to research information on what there is to do around the UK.

It has drawn in activities information from multiple local providers including outward bound courses on things like GPS reading and navigation.

The activities can be filtered geographically and the site offers live availability and the ability for the user to build their trip using a calendar function which can be exported to mobile devices.

Currently accommodation is being provided by Laterooms, but it is hoped campsites will be added in due course. At the website’s launch, which was due yesterday although was delayed by a glitch, 13,000 bookable products will be available.

All the product is loaded up by the providers using a white label extranet provided by TourCMS, the tours and activities marketplace and booking and distribution platform.

Go Activities will be promoted digitally via email sent after consumers buy a product suggesting relevant trips and eventually in-store, with items of kit being matched to certain activities.

It is hoped the concept will eventually be rolled out globally within the next six months to offer activities in overseas destinations.