As a sports facility owner, you’re not just managing court and cage availability; you’re managing attention.
Parents are juggling work, school, and five different group chats. Athletes want instant updates. Coaches and instructors want things to “just be on the calendar.” And your front desk cannot afford to spend the day chasing no-shows because a time change got buried in someone’s inbox.
While email blasts are great for longer updates and newsletters, they can quickly drop off in performance.
Whereas push notifications (sent through a branded mobile app) are the closest thing to tapping someone on the shoulder, digitally speaking. It’s a gentle time-sensitive nudge directed to your customers' pockets.
In this post, we’ll explore the real benefits of push notifications and how they can drive more revenue than email blasts alone.
The Truth About “Open Rates”
Email and push notifications both have an “open” metric, but they are not the same behavior.
- Email open = the email client registers the message as opened.
- Push direct open = the notification leads to an app open.
That difference matters because app opens are closer to action. An app open can land someone directly on the exact booking screen, membership page, or promo you want them to see.
With Swift’s branded app, you link directly to the checkout for the service you want customers to book when they click the notification.
Email Open Rate Benchmarks
A large global email benchmark from the Global Data and Marketing Alliance (GDMA) in 2024 reported:
- Average email open rate: 34.12%
- Average email click-through rate: 3.56%
Those are healthy numbers, but there is a catch that every facility owner should know:
GDMA notes open rates can be inflated by privacy features like Apple Mail Privacy Protection, which can automatically mark emails as opened.
The UK DMA makes a similar point more directly: their Email Benchmarking Report discussion specifically calls out moving away from open rates as the measure of success.
Plain English: email opens can look better than the real attention you got, so you should care more about clicks and conversions.
Push Notification Open Rate Benchmarks
Airship’s 2025 Mobile App Push Notification Benchmarks (based on January to December 2024 data) report Sports & Recreation average push notification direct open rates of:
- Android: 6.4%
- iOS: 5.2%
At first glance, you might think: “That’s lower than email open rates.” That is the wrong comparison.
The better comparison is this:
- Email open rate is an early indicator, and can be inflated.
- Push direct open rate is closer to “they opened the app,” which is already a step toward booking, paying, or taking action.
- Email click-through rate is often the real action metric, and GDMA’s global CTR benchmark is 3.56%.
So in practice, push notifications can create a higher share of immediate action, especially when your message is short, urgent, and linked to the right destination (like a promo for a specific service on Swift).
Why Push Notifications Lead to More Revenue for Sports Facilities Than Email Blasts
1) The message is delivered where attention actually lives: the lock screen
People do not “check email” like they used to, especially for local updates like the sports facility down the street. Push notifications show up on the device in real time, without asking someone to open an inbox, search, or scroll.
As a facility owner, this marketing channel is perfect for messages and reminders like:
- Weather closures and last-minute cancellations
- “Court 2 opened up at 6pm”
- Clinic reminders and roster confirmations
- Membership renewal nudges
- “Your private lesson starts in 30 minutes”
2) Push reduces booking friction with deep links
A push notification can take your customers straight into the booking flow. Working with hundreds of sports facilities at Swift, we’ve seen owners use this for flash promotions that link directly to a camp, clinic, lesson, or rental and drive considerable revenue.
Email marketing can do this too, but it usually requires more steps:
Open inbox → open email → click link → open browser → log in → find service.
Every extra step loses customers.
Push works better when timing matters.
If a customer sees “Court 2 opened up at 6pm” or a reminder that a clinic is almost full, they can jump right into the app and book before the opportunity is gone.
3) Push helps facilities boost revenue with urgency
A lot of revenue at a sports facility is won or lost in the gaps.
A canceled lesson, an unfilled cage rental, a few remaining camp spots, or a same-day openings can all turn into missed revenue if your customers don’t see it quickly enough.
That is why push notifications are so valuable.
They are built for the kinds of moments where you need to move fast and customers need a simple way to respond.
Instead of sending a broad email and hoping someone checks it in time, use a push notification to create urgency around open times, remaining slots, or low inventory that would otherwise go unnoticed by your customers.
How to Increase Push Notifications Open Rates and Reduce Opt-Outs for Sports Facilities
Push notifications only work if it stays relevant. Airship’s benchmarks include several findings that map perfectly to a sports facility:
- Segmentation increases direct open rates, with reported increases ranging from 18% to 65%, and in some cases, higher.
- A “Rich push notification” (ie, adding more context and visual content) can produce a +22% average increase in direct open rates compared to notifications without rich media.
Translation for your sports facility: do not blast everyone. Send the right update to the right group, along with relevant graphics to grab attention when appropriate.
Here are a few examples of segmented notifications:
- Baseball parents get rainout updates and camp promos.
- Adult league players get open gym reminders
- High school athletes get pitching clinic announcements.
- Members get renewal nudges and perk updates.
Inside Swift, memberships are already natural segments, and you can easily create quick push notification blasts to these customers. For those wanting to go the extra mile, with a Zapier integration, you can set up automations with a CRM of your choice, giving you even greater segmentation options.
When to Use Email Blasts vs Push Notifications
This is not “push OR email.” The best facilities use both.
Use email blasts when you need space for long-form content, like:
- A monthly newsletter
- New program launches with details
- Tournament schedules and PDFs
- Sponsor announcements
- A seasonal update with “Everything coming up”
Swift’s email marketing feature is designed for exactly that: quick blasts, and performance tracking like delivery and opens.
Use push notifications when timing matters:
- Reminders, changes, openings, and urgency
- Limited spots
- Same-day promos
- “Tap to book” moments
A Simple Sports Facility Marketing Playbook
If it is urgent, send a push.
If it is detailed, send an email
If it impacts revenue today, start with a push and follow with an email.
Examples:
- Open slots tonight: Push now, email recap later.
- New camp launch: Email with details, push reminder when spots get low.
- Weather update: Push only, keep it short and clear.
Turn Your Sports Facility Into a One-Tap Booking Experience with a Branded App
A branded app is not just a nicer look. It removes friction and puts your facility on your customers’ home screens.
Swift’s branded app promise is simple:
- Stand out with your own iPhone and Android app
- Send branded push notifications directly to customers
- Track clicks tied to each push
- Drive customers straight to the service you want them to book
If you’re already using email marketing tools for your sports facility and looking for a natural upgrade, book a free demo to speak to a member of our team. They’ll help answer all your questions and walk you through all Swift has to offer.
