Sheffield Wednesday is pleased to announce that the club will be operating vastly improved ticketing and retail systems from July 14, 2009.

The Owls Megastore has secured agreement with a new partner company as part of an ongoing commitment to offer supporters as high a level of service as possible.

New software will bring many benefits to fans with a much more user-friendly online buying experience accompanied by improved functionality and efficiency internally. Immediately noticeable to supporters will be the new-look online services which will go live on July 14.

Amongst the many benefits of the system will be:

No online booking fees
Previously all supporters paid £1.50 per ticket purchased online. However from the start of the 2009/10 campaign there will be no charge when purchasing tickets via the internet.

View all available seats
Whereas previously supporters purchasing tickets online were allocated seats on a best available basis you will now be able to view the seating plan and select available seats of your choice. During the 2009/10 season we will also be developing the ability to see the view from each seating area before purchasing tickets.

Retail/Loyalty integration
The new online store will allow purchases of both tickets and merchandise in the same transaction as if you were in the Owls Megastore. This combines the ticketing and merchandise into a one-stop online shop for Sheffield Wednesday. The new systems and loyalty card will also enable us to manage prioritisation for away games and any major games where demand cannot be met.

Our website will also be developed to offer hospitality packages and events tickets in the near future, with all club services and products set to be available through this website. The recently introduced SWFC TeamCard loyalty scheme is also fully integrated with this online portal, allowing supporters to earn and spend loyalty points with all online purchases.

These loyalty benefits are available to season ticket holders as well to club and Foundation members.

Sheffield Wednesday chairman, Lee Strafford, said: "For too long it has been too difficult for our supporters to access the tickets and products they want online and our new, fully integrated, web platform will provide a truly fan friendly customer experience.

"It is vital that our supporters have easy access to what they want from the club and this new system will make it a simple process to buy tickets, merchandise, products and services in one visit to our new website. As a club we want to put you, the supporter in control of how you interact with Sheffield Wednesday and this is the first major step to achieve that ahead of the new season."