The ticketing industry has undergone a massive transformation in recent years with the rise of digital ticketing. Paper tickets are becoming a thing of the past as more and more venues and events transition to mobile and online ticketing. This shift towards digital presents both opportunities and challenges for the industry.
Some key questions around digital ticketing include:
How has digital ticketing changed the consumer experience?
Digital ticketing has fundamentally altered the way consumers purchase, manage, and use tickets. Instead of having to visit a box office or ticket outlet, fans can now easily buy tickets directly from their mobile device or computer. Digital tickets can be managed in online accounts and accessed anytime on a smartphone. This allows for greater convenience and flexibility for consumers. They no longer have to worry about losing paper tickets or carrying them around. It also enables features like transferring or reselling tickets through official resale marketplaces. Overall, digital ticketing has made the process faster, easier and more consumer-friendly.
What are the benefits for venues and event organizers?
There are numerous potential benefits to venues and organizers in going digital with ticketing:
– Reduced costs on printing and mailing paper tickets
– Ability to collect more customer data and insights when tickets are tied to online accounts
– More opportunities for marketing and promotions through email and social media
– Lower risk of counterfeit tickets due to unique barcode/QR codes
– Greater control over secondary ticket market through official resale platforms
– Increased security as digital tickets can be traced, voided or revoked if needed
– Dynamic pricing and other revenue maximization opportunities
– Streamlined entry for attendees with mobile scan technology
By switching to digital, organizers can greatly improve operations, better engage with fans, and unlock more revenue streams.
What challenges come with digital ticketing?
Despite the many upsides, there are some potential hurdles and risks:
– Upfront investment required in software/hardware for digital ticketing
– Ensuring all attendees can access digital tickets, including less tech-savvy fans
– Preventing technical issues that could disrupt entry on event day
– Maintaining security protocols to avoid ticket fraud
– Managing data privacy concerns that come with collecting more customer data
– Potential for greater competition from secondary ticket sellers that also offer digital transferability
– Losing personal touch and experience of physical tickets for some attendees
Venues will need to carefully evaluate and address these challenges in their transition to digital to ensure a smooth rollout. Change management and education for both employees and consumers will be critical.
How does digital ticketing impact the secondary ticket market?
Digital ticketing has disrupted the secondary ticket market, bringing both positive and negative effects. On the positive side, the ability to electronically transfer and sell tickets securely through official resale platforms makes it safer and easier for fans. It cuts down on illegal street scalping and counterfeit ticket sales by enabling traceable digital transfer. Venues can also exert more control over secondary sales.
However, digital transferability also provides more ways for industrial-scale ticket resellers to quickly buy and sell large volumes of tickets. With bots and other technical means, these large secondary sellers can buy up tickets immediately and then relist them on resale sites at higher prices. So digital ticketing has been a bit of double-edged sword in its impact on the secondary market.
What does the future hold for digital ticketing?
Many experts predict the ticketing industry will continue moving rapidly toward being close to 100% digital. Mobile tickets will become the standard across most venues and events. Features like integrated transportation ticketing, frictionless entry with biometrics, and integration of payments, concessions, merchandise, and more could be coming through digital ticketing platforms.
Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs may also begin playing a larger role in digital ticketing, though the applications are still in early stages. Overall, the digitization of ticketing appears inevitable, which will likely bring more major shifts in how tickets are sold, managed, and used by all parties.
The Rise of Digital Ticketing
The move towards digital and mobile ticketing has grown substantially over the past decade. According to statistics:
- Digital ticket sales in the global ticketing market increased from 15% in 2010 to over 50% in 2020.
- Mobile tickets specifically now account for 35% of all digital ticket sales globally.
- In the US, digitally scanned tickets accounted for 78% of all live event attendees in 2019, up from just 2% in 2011.
Several factors have driven this rapid adoption of digital ticketing:
Smartphone Penetration
With over 80% of American adults now owning smartphones, and mobile device usage skyrocketing globally, consumers are increasingly expecting services through mobile apps and web platforms. Event organizers have adapted ticketing to fit this mobile-first world. bar codes.
Contactless Experiences
Digital ticketing enables a more contactless, seamless experience for attendees. With health and safety top of mind in recent years due to COVID, mobile tickets that don’t need to be handed back and forth have become very appealing.
Enhanced Data and Analytics
Selling tickets online provides much more customer data like email addresses and purchase history that venues can use for better marketing and sales. Digital tickets also allow for more analytics around admission scanning and real-time attendance tracking.
Anti-Counterfeiting Measures
The unique QR codes and barcodes used for digital tickets are far more difficult to fake or duplicate compared to paper tickets. This deters fraud and makes fraudulent resale harder as well.
Environmental Impact
With sustainability a growing priority across industries, ditching millions of paper tickets and mailings in favor of digital significantly reduces waste and environmental footprint.
These key factors have collided to make digital the expected standard for event ticketing in the 21st century. Fans increasingly demand digital access whenever buying tickets, forcing venues to adapt.
Benefits of Digital Ticketing for Venues
The switch to digital and mobile ticketing brings a host of advantages for venues and event organizers.
Lower Distribution Costs
Printing and mailing paper tickets en masse can be very expensive. Digital tickets have negligible distribution costs in comparison. Eventbrite estimated venues can save around 80% on their ticket distribution costs by going fully digital. That provides major cost savings.
Enhanced Sales and Marketing Intelligence
Selling tickets online generates significantly more customer data like email addresses, purchase history and demographics that yield valuable sales and marketing insights. Digital tickets also allow organizations to track online behavior and run targeted promotions to drive more sales. Access to better data improves business intelligence.
Built-in Anti-Counterfeiting
Fake paper tickets can easily be created and sold by scalpers, hurting revenues. But each digital ticket has a unique barcode or QR code tied to the buyer that is incredibly difficult to duplicate or forge successfully. Digital ticketing eliminates counterfeit ticket vulnerabilities.
Greater Convenience for Attendees
Digital ticketing simply makes life easier for attendees. Managing tickets online or via an app is more convenient than keeping track of paper tickets. Fans can easily transfer or sell legitimate tickets as well through trusted digital channels. This improved experience keeps attendees happy and loyal.
Increased Security
Digital ticketing systems give event organizers much tighter control and security around admission. Tickets can be traced to individual buyers, voided if needed, and scanned to definitively confirm validity and prevent duplication. With paper tickets, duplications and counterfeits often slip through.
Valuable Data Insights
The wealth of attendee data collected from digital ticketing provides venues powerful data on ticket sales cycles, popular sections or seats, overall attendance patterns, and more. These data-driven insights help optimize everything from staffing to concessions to pricing and promotions.
Opportunities for Upselling
Digital ticketing platforms allow organizations much more flexibility to incentivize add-ons or upsells like VIP packages, merchandise bundles, and more during the purchasing process. This can boost per order revenue. Post-purchase, digital tickets also enable targeted and personalized promotions based on data and purchase history.
In summary, digital ticketing unlocks game-changing access to data and technology that venues can leverage in many impactful business ways.
Challenges of Digital Ticketing
Despite the array of benefits to digital ticketing, there are also notable challenges that come with making the switch:
Upfront Technology Costs
To support digital ticketing, venues must invest in compatible online ticketing platforms, apps, updated back-end software, admission scanning hardware/software and more. For some smaller venues, these upfront technology costs can be prohibitive. Ongoing IT costs like maintenance and security also go up.
Relinquishing Customer Data Control
With 3rd-party digital ticketing partners, venues cede some control and access to customer data that can be used for marketing by platform partners as well as getting shared with other channels like Ticketmaster. This trade-off around data control can be difficult for some event organizers.
Technological Hassles
Any technical issues or outages on the day of an event wreak havoc for digital ticket scanning and admission. Wi-fi crashes or app failures can create long delays for entry. Having robust crisis contingency plans is crucial.
Ticket Fraud Loophole Risks
Though more secure, digital tickets still come with some fraud risks if buyers screenshot or photocopy certain ticket barcodes where duplication detection may be limited compared to newer blockchain-encrypted tickets.
Excluding Specific Demographics
Certain more analog demographics like the elderly who lack smartphone proficiency can have trouble accessing digital tickets, a gap that needs to be addressed. Wi-fi dead zones on venue grounds can also limit access.
Environmental Costs
Though e-tickets cut paper waste, the digital ecosystem of data storage, streaming, scanning, etc. carries environmental costs through electricity usage and resultant emissions that should be considered.
Overall, while the pros generally outweigh the cons, every organization should carefully assess the unique costs, risks and trade-offs involved in migrating to digital ticketing specific to their needs and capabilities. A hybrid approach may make sense at the outset for some.
The Impact on Secondary Ticket Markets
Digital ticketing has radically reshaped the live event secondary ticketing landscape:
Official Resale Marketplaces
Digital tickets that allow for secure transfer of ownership online have enabled the rise of official secondary ticket resale marketplaces like Ticketmaster Plus, AXS Marketplace, etc. This provides a secure, convenient option for rights holders and fans to resell and buy tickets while ensuring validity and preventing counterfeits.
According to Ticketmaster data, their Plus Resale secondary transactions increased over 350% from 2016 to 2018 following their rollout of digital transferable ticketing.
Challenges for Scalpers
Digital ticketing has made unauthorized large-scale scalping more challenging. Without paper tickets, massive volumes can’t easily be photocopied. Invalid digital duplicates are also easier to catch and void. Scalpers have lost some advantages.
Scarcity Marketing Opportunities
Digital secondary marketplaces allow performers and promoters to employ ticket scarcity marketing tactics through pricing controls and limits on transferability. Primary and secondary prices can be dynamically managed via digital systems.
Data Benefits for Resale Partners
Major secondary ticketing platforms like StubHub and Vivid Seats also gain valuable sales, pricing and customer data from digital ticket transfers that can inform their operations and marketing.
While problems like bots still persist, digital platforms have overall helped better regulate secondary ticket markets by bringing sales out of the shadows and into more controlled, legitimate channels. This improves transparency and protection.
Key Digital Ticketing Platforms
A handful of leading digital ticketing platforms and technologies have emerged as go-to solutions for venues and organizers:
Ticketmaster
The longtime dominant primary ticketing platform also offers a range of e-ticketing technologies and services supporting venues of all sizes in transitioning from paper to digital tickets.
AXS
Provides digital ticketing platforms tailored for concert venues, sports teams, and other live entertainment events including analytics tools and fan engagement features. They power ticketing for major partners like AEG.
Eventbrite
A popular independent digital ticketing processor used widely by smaller venues and organizers to sell tickets online and via mobile securely. Offers free and paid plans.
SeatGeek
A relative newcomer providing digital ticketing, fan engagement and data tools for live event partners. Focuses on ease of use and mobility.
Paciolan
Enterprise technology firm with major digital ticketing, fan experience, and venue management solutions used by top sports teams, colleges, and cultural institutions.
This mix of ticketing giants like Ticketmaster and AXS along with disruptor startups like Eventbrite and SeatGeek provide an array of options for venues planning their digital transition.
The Future of Digital Ticketing
Several emerging technologies and trends provide a glimpse into the future of digital ticketing:
Blockchain Ticketing
Blockchain-powered “smart tickets” provide unparalleled security and traceability through encrypted ticket identification. Artists like 50 Cent have pioneered blockchain ticketing at scale, hinting at major growth ahead.
Biometrics
Facial and fingerprint scanning applications are being piloted to link digital tickets to identities for seamless, ticketless entry. Biometrics ensure valid access without tickets changing hands.
Wearable Tech
From smart watches to RFID wristbands, wearable tech can store and transmit digital tickets securely. This also facilitates cashless concessions and data collection at venues.
Everything Integrated
The ideal future for many venues is having a single integrated mobile platform for tickets, concessions, merchandise, content, transportation, and even digital-only experiences. Mobile becomes the remote control for everything.
Hybrid Model Persistence
Despite massive digital growth, paper tickets will persist for some demographic groups and venue types. Expect a hybrid paper + digital model to be the norm for a long while. Digital maturity varies greatly by region as well globally.
As technology relentlessly advances, digital ticketing platforms will continue optimizing experiences for venues and fans through ever-easier access, smarter security and analytics, and smoother integration with related services. The conversion away from paper accelerates, but still with room for traditional tickets. In the end, delivering ultimate convenience, safety and value for money will determine which technologies flourish.
Conclusion
The digital transformation of ticketing is well underway across most parts of live entertainment. Driven by mobile proliferation and data advantages, digital platforms have become instrumental in how the majority of venues sell, manage and process tickets.
The benefits range from major cost savings and intelligence gains for promoters to greater convenience and anti-fraud protections for fans. Digital also helps connect primary and secondary markets more securely.
However, minimizing exclusions of analog user groups, planning for technical failures, and upgrading security protocols are key challenges venues must address to perfect digital adoption. No transition of this scale is without growing pains.
But overall, the efficiencies, experiences and innovations unlocked by digital represent the future of ticketing at large. New technologies like biometrics and blockchain will only accelerate this trajectory. As digital maturity grows across regions and cultures, paperless will become the norm.
Still, certain groups and use cases necessitate maintaining a parallel paper option as venues strike the right digital-analog balance. Regardless of the exact tools, delivering maximum value and simplicity for communities remains ticketing’s enduring purpose in a digital-first era.
