Mobile ticketing for sport, music, and cultural events has gained popularity in the past decade. Due to the rapid increase in mobile device ownership and mobile payments, mobile ticketing is the new standard.
Although the use of this technology is growing, there are still some old misconceptions that are keeping smaller- and medium-sized companies from enjoying these benefits for their events.
In recent ticketing industry news, SecuTix acquired Oxynade. This move will help smaller- and medium-sized companies make use of mobile ticketing technology and please customers. Visit our site to learn more.
What is mobile ticketing?
We all know e.g. the Apple wallet or Android equivalents to store mobile tickets in a blockchain secured way. The leading pioneer for handling mobile tickets to simplify storing, sharing, reselling mobile tickets while reducing the possibility of fraud and setting new standards in security is TIXnGO.
Mobile ticketing refers to the purchase, holding, and validation of tickets with a mobile device. The phrase is commonly used to describe mobile device tickets for event entry (because someone could pay on their desktop computer and then later enter with a mobile ticket). However, purchasing is a huge component of this technology as well.
There are a few different forms of mobile tickets. An attendant could scan a QR code upon entry straight from the secure wallet on his smartphone. Or the event might not issue QR codes and instead require that the ticket purchaser come with the credit card and photo ID that matches the information used when purchasing. TIXnGO is providing the solution once more.
When did mobile ticketing arise?
No one knows exactly which event trail-blazed the first mobile ticket, but these tickets have been in use for public transit since at least 2007.
Over the past decade, the percentage of mobile tickets to paper tickets have grown every month, as even smaller events get on board with customer expectations. Local festivals, smaller music festivals, and sporting events are joining the ranks of mega-event organizers by incorporating mobile technology into the customer experience.
What are the benefits of mobile tickets?
Customers and event companies don't love mobile tickets without reason. The reasons why event managers offer them are different than why event-goers choose them over other ticketing methods.
Benefits for marketplaces like ticketing agencies & distributors as well as for event organizers & venues
As mobile tickets become the standard, more and more events want to provide these for customers to keep up with expectations.
- Meet and exceed customer expectations - Because many customers are accustomed to receiving mobile tickets for past events, they expect them even for smaller and medium-sized events. Customers don't want to have to print and carry a ticket, or bother with will call. Keeping up with customer expectations will increase ticket sales, and repeat purchases for future events.
- Higher conversions - Mobile ticketing also involves the sale of tickets via mobile. As more companies have prioritized mobile-first design and UX, they increase their conversion rates on these devices.
- Faster check-in process - When people aren't rummaging through their purses, backpacks, or wallets to find paper tickets, lines move a lot quicker.
- Fewer people at will call - A long will call line is frustrating for everyone involved. When offering mobile tickets, you can nearly eliminate the need to provide will call.
Benefits for customers
Event-goers experience some great benefits from mobile ticketing as well, mainly convenience!
- No need to print - Customers appreciate that there's no requirement to print their tickets before the event. Printer ownership and printing-related per capita revenue have steadily declined for the past decade.
- Fair event prices - While not all customers know that the use of mobile tickets can reduce scalping, ticket distributors and event organizers can do their part to make this clear to ticket purchasers during the purchase process. That way they not only get to experience the benefit, but they know about it too.
- Faster check-in process - When most ticket holders are using mobile tickets, the check-in process goes faster for everyone. There's a lot less stalling at the front of the line.
- No need to do will call - Before mobile ticketing, many people would do will call so that they would not have to worry about losing their ticket before the event, or forgetting to bring it. Now, these same people don't have to bother with will call and get stuck in long lines.
What were some of the earlier concerns?
Despite their popularity with ticket distributors, event organizers, and customers, mobile tickets haven't been with their share of controversy.
These are the issues for ticket holders in the early days of this technology:
- Difficult to resell - In some cases, ticket purchasers weren't aware that they weren't allowed to resell tickets, which lead to frustration. Today, ticket sellers make sure to clearly and visibly specify restrictions. This best practice has been widely adopted.
- Difficult to gift - This issue depends on the paperless ticketing solution in use. While some mobile tickets can be easily transferred or gifted, others can't. The Blockchain Ticketing Solution TIXnGO is offering a pioneer solution to this hurdle.
These are the issues for ticketing agencies, distributors and event organizers in the early days of this technology:
- Expensive to offer - While the latest top-notch SaaS technology affordably brings this solution to smaller- and medium-sized companies, in the early days, it was cost-prohibitive for some companies to offer this to customers.
- Challenging to set up and manage - Again, with new technology that's easy to set up and use, this isn't as much of a problem anymore. But in the early days of mobile ticketing, companies needed advanced technical staff to implement it. With the Oxynade platform, it is easily possible to manage this as a self-service feature.
What are the latest updates to mobile ticketing technology?
The latest updates to mobile ticketing have removed the previous barriers to usage and made the entire experience more user-friendly for sellers and purchasers. With these updates, adoption has spiked even more.
Widespread usage of mobile devices
The biggest update is simply adoption. Ticket purchases happen on mobile with greater frequency ever year. That's why companies miss out when they don't put mobile-first.
While in the early days of mobile ticketing, smartphone ownership was still fairly low, it's now at an all-time high. In 2011, the percentage of small phone owners in the US was 35%. That number is now 81%. These statistics make it impossible to ignore mobile ticketing as a ticketing agency, distributor or event organizer.
Superior UX
Recall that mobile ticketing isn't just about saving tickets on a mobile device, it also includes buying them. Mobile-optimized UX design has made many advancements in the past couple of years. UX is faster, simpler, and more intuitive than it ever has been. These improvements mean higher conversions and fewer abandoned carts. Ticketing agencies, distributors and event organizers are wise to take advantage of the conversion improvements offered by mobile ticketing.
Download our webinar on UX and optimizing purchase flows.
More customizable security, powered by blockchain
Security has improved too. The application of blockchain technology to ticketing allows companies to offer more complex resell restrictions, such as the number of tickets that can be resold, the category of tickets, and also how much more they can be resold for. It's no wonder that over one million UEFA tickets will be distributed via blockchain technology this year.
Permissible transfer
Even without the use of blockchain technology, mobile ticketing today makes it easier to setup permissible transfer for people who would like to gift their tickets to others.
Of course, scalpers can still take advantage, but customers get frustrated when there isn't some mechanism for transfer. With advancements to mobile ticketing technology, event organizers can decide whether or not they want to allow the ticket transfer and then implement this accordingly.
Affordable SaaS model pricing
It is needless to do custom coding or to hire an entire IT team just to offer mobile tickets to your customers. Mobile tickets can now be implemented via an easy-to-use SaaS solution.
With a SaaS solution, you have all the tools you need as a ticketing agency, distributer or event organizer right at your fingertips to make your event a great success and maximize your ROI.
The solution may require some integration with other systems that you utilize, such as your CRM, marketing system, and or accounting system. With our API-centric solution, this is as easy as a walk in the park. It will empower you to take care of everything necessary - even more - and to sell your event successfully.
Explore mobile ticketing for your next event.
Visit our website or register for our upcoming webinar about the next-gen SaaS ticketing solution that's eliminating the pain points of the ticketing industry and will elevate the growth of your ticketing business.