How would you measure the success of ixigo Assured free cancellation on train bookings?

Introduction

ixigo Assured is ixigo's free-cancellation add-on. On train bookings, a traveller who adds ixigo Assured can cancel before a cut-off (around chart preparation, per the policy shown in the app) and get the full train fare back, instead of losing the cancellation charges Indian Railways normally deducts. The Assured fee itself, ixigo's fee, IRCTC's convenience fee and payment gateway charges are not refunded. A variant, ixigo Assured Flex, offers a different mix of flexibility and price. A similar Assured product exists for flights.

For trains, this matters a lot. Plans change often, especially for long-distance and festival travel, and Railways cancellation charges are a real cost for price-sensitive travellers. For ixigo, Assured is a high-margin ancillary on a low-margin category. I'll define the product context, goals, a North Star and the supporting, guardrail, trade-off and counter metrics.

Step 1

Product Context

Key stakeholders:

• Travellers: Want to avoid losing money if plans change.
• ixigo: Earns the Assured fee and pays the cancellation charges on claimed bookings. Gains loyalty and conversion.
• IRCTC and Indian Railways: Process the cancellation and refund under their own rules.
• Customer support: Handles refund queries.

User flow:

1. The traveller searches for a train and selects a class.
2. At review, ixigo Assured is offered with a short explanation and price.
3. The traveller adds it and pays.
4. If plans change, the traveller cancels in the app before the cut-off.
5. Railways refunds its share after deducting cancellation charges; ixigo tops up the difference so the traveller gets the full fare back.
6. If Railways cancels the train itself, Railways refunds the full fare automatically, and the Assured premium isn't refunded.

Product lifecycle stage: Mature in trains, growing in other modes. The question now is how to keep growing it profitably and use it to build trust.

Competitive context: MakeMyTrip, Paytm and other train booking apps offer similar free-cancellation add-ons. IRCTC's own app doesn't. ixigo's differentiators are its brand, refund speed and how clearly the product is explained.