From calendar-rule MOT reminders to booking-probability targeting
MOT reminders were sent on a fixed 30/14/1-day cadence to every vehicle in the file. Reminder-driven bookings had flattened, garages in high-demand postcodes were saturated while others sat empty, and the retailer had no way to route customers to available slots.
- MOT booking survival modelDeep survival network on 4 years of registration, service and booking data — predicts the day booking probability peaks per vehicle.
- Garage capacity solverConstraint solver matching predicted demand to per-postcode Autocentre slots on a rolling 21-day horizon.
- Uplift-matched reminderCausal model chooses between reminder-only, discount, or free-check offer — only where each is incremental.
10% randomized holdout kept on the legacy 30/14/1 calendar. Treatment cohort received model-timed reminders with slot-aware routing. Readout on booked MOTs and attach revenue.
| Metric | Baseline | With model |
|---|---|---|
| Booking probability @ reminder send | 0.14 | 0.39 |
| Slot fill rate, off-peak garages | 58% | 84% |
| Attach conversion (tyres / bulbs) | 12% | 23% |
The retailer retired its calendar-rule reminder engine. Load moved off saturated garages onto quieter ones, colleagues reported fewer 'we're full' conversations, and the P&L saw the attach lift as pure margin.
This is the shape of the flagship engagement we'd propose at Halfords — Autocentres, MOT diary, and attach on tyres, wipers, bulbs and Motoring Club conversion at the point of booking.
"The model doesn't just tell us who to remind. It tells us which garage they'll actually go to."