5 reasons to use mobile tickets for your next event.
Mobile ticketing for sports, music, and cultural events has gained tremendous popularity over the past decade. Due to the huge success story of mobile devices and an ever-increasing number of mobile payments, mobile ticketing is becoming the new standard.
Although the use of this technology is trending upwards, there are still some old misconceptions that keep especially small and medium-sized event organizers from taking advantage of mobile tickets for their events. We want to clear up these misconceptions in our blog post on mobile ticketing.
What is mobile ticketing?
You’re probably familiar with Apple Wallet or the Android equivalent for storing mobile tickets directly on your phone.
Mobile ticketing refers to purchasing, holding and validating tickets with a mobile device. The term is often used to describe tickets to enter an event with a mobile device (because someone might pay on their desktop computer and then enter later with a mobile ticket). For this purpose, storage in the wallet provides easy handling of mobile tickets. Tickets are thus easy to store, cannot be forgotten at home on the day of the event, and cannot be lost.
Is there only ONE mobile ticket?
No! Basically, there are several different forms of mobile tickets. For example, an event organizer could simply issue a QR code that visitors show and scan on their cell phones upon entry. This often works, for example, by showing the QR code of the PDF wipe, which is actually intended as a “print at home” ticket, and at least has the advantage of not having to print out the ticket first.
Another, but not quite as popular variant is the integration of a mobile ticket into an app of the organizer or operator. For this, however, the ticket buyer still has to download a separate app in any case, which is not always that popular. One advantage, however, is that the issuer has direct access to the cell phone and can offer further applications. For example, he can immediately offer the possibility to buy the ticket directly in the app. This is used by Deutsche Bahn, among others, which offers mobile tickets exclusively via its own app.
Most popular – PKPASS
Probably the most common and popular variant of the mobile ticket is the issue of a so-called PKPASS. A PKPASS can be stored as a file in a mobile wallet, allowing the ticket to be displayed directly on the cell phone. The Pass Wallet app technology (often referred to as Passbook) originated in the USA and was first introduced by Apple.
Mobile tickets such as PKPASS are based on customer needs
All PKPASS files are digitally signed by the issuer, so any attempt to forge the data or access it without permission is considered unsuccessful.
Using a PKPASS, it is possible to have the QR code scanned directly from the wallet on a smartphone when entering an event. No extra app needs to be installed for this, at least on Apple devices. But the wallet is also becoming increasingly popular on Android devices, and with the introduction of Google Pay, a wallet for digital tickets and vouchers is now also preinstalled on most Android devices.
Trouble in town?
Despite their increasing popularity among ticket sellers, event organizers and customers, mobile tickets have not been that popular everywhere. There are several reasons for this, which we will briefly explain:
Mobile tickets are...
...difficult to give away!
Admittedly, if you want to give away a ticket, handing it over is part of the process. But is that really a problem? Mobile tickets are easy to transfer and can therefore be given away without any problems. Add to that perhaps a nice bottle of wine, or a box of chocolates…that’s it!
...complicated to set up!
Many older software solutions for ticket sales are mainly focused on printing tickets. Mobile application possibilities that were developed were more or less cumbersome on it. For egocentric Systems, e-tickets, just like the “mobile first” approach, have always played a very important role – and rightly so!
...with high fees!
Until a few years ago, the big ticket portals also charged high fees for electronic tickets. This meant that an e-ticket was only minimally cheaper than a physical ticket sent by mail. After a successful lawsuit by the consumer association Verbraucherzentrale NRW, the BGH has now also rejected the appeal of the ticketing provider CTS Eventim in the last instance. This means that even the major portals are no longer allowed to charge for e-tickets, paving the way for mobile tickets.
In plain language: these are the advantages of mobile ticketing
Now that we’ve shown you that many concerns about mobile ticketing are unfounded, here’s a concentrated load of reasons why it’s worth using it. Not only you, but also your guests will benefit from these 5 advantages!
The number of customers who want to print out a ticket or carry it with them in paper form is becoming smaller and smaller. The danger of losing the ticket or forgetting it at home is far too great. If you keep up with customer expectations, ticket sales will increase, as will repeat ticket bookings for future events.
Another benefit is the increase in conversion rates. This is because mobile ticketing also includes the general sale of tickets via cell phone. The target group for events is getting younger and younger, which means that bookings on mobile devices are also on the rise. Every event organizer should therefore also address the “mobile first” strategy in ticketing as part of their sales strategies. This is necessary to offer all ticket buyers a pleasant booking experience and at the same time increase conversion rates.
A quick check-in process at the event is also a huge benefit. When your guests don’t have to dig through their purses, backpacks, or wallets to find paper tickets, the lines move much faster. A mobile ticket is quickly accessible on a cell phone and the guest can find it at any time without having to search for it.
A decreasing support effort is another advantage if you, as an organizer, rely more and more on mobile ticketing. From our more than 13 years of experience in full service ticketing, we can assure you that the support effort that arises in our call center before an event is sometimes immensely high. But this support effort is avoidable. Most requests are for tickets to be reprinted, resent, or a question about the shipping status. With a digital ticket, this question does not arise and your support effort is reduced enormously.
For your visitors, the big advantage is that there is no need to print out tickets. Your guests appreciate that, because you take work off their shoulders. Not to forget the aspect of sustainability. Because our environment also benefits when there is less need for paper. Event organizers with whom we work now, rely exclusively on mobile tickets for environmental and sustainability reasons. Just to give you an example: XS Carnight, the annual tuning meeting, has been doing without paper tickets completely for over a year as part of a “green campaign”. Customers and fans support this and have ensured that all 2020 events were completely sold out.
The biggest advance is that mobile tickets are gradually reaching the broad stratum of the population. Every year, millions of ticket purchases are made on cell phones. Mobile technologies have long been used in public transportation, air travel, and even shipping.
While in the early days of mobile ticketing, smartphone ownership was still relatively low, today it is at an all-time high. In 2011, the percentage of small phone owners in the U.S. was 35%. That number now stands at 81%.
You too can discover mobile ticketing for your next event.
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