The mobile ticketing “world” has transformed the ticketing process, from payment processing and database integration, to providing real-time attendance and sales data.
Oracle Systems predicted that mobile commerce will reach $41 billion by the end of 2015 – almost a 70% increase from 2012. As your patrons begin to use their mobile devices more frequently for other types of purchases, the mobile ticketing industry (and the demand for mobile ticket buying options) will scale accordingly. When talking about “mobile devices”, both smartphones and tablets should be considered. However, according to IBM’s Digital Analytics Benchmark, more purchases are executed on tablets:
Smartphones drove 33.7 percent of all online traffic compared to tablets at 12.4 percent, making it the browsing device of choice. When it comes to making the sale, tablets drove 12.4 percent of all online sales while smartphones accounted for 10.7 percent. Tablet users also averaged $98.56 per order, versus smartphone users, who averaged $92.37 per order.
Along with these trends comes a need for mobile digital marketing – an industry which because of its technical, customer-driven nature, is rapidly-changing. When you couple an increase in mobile engagement with an ever-evolving tech industry, the need to adapt accordingly becomes more accentuated. In today’s market, there isn’t any time to waste. Effective arts marketers will adopt mobile optimization and mobile experiences as a cornerstone of your digital marketing infrastructure.
Use Trends to Increase Mobile Ticket Sales
Arts marketers can take advantage of mobile trends by simply participating in mobile e-commerce, or m-commerce. Demographics more likely to be patrons of the arts, such as the affluent, are also more likely to own smartphones and therefore more likely to purchase tickets on mobile devices.
Take advantage of the facts! Intelligent arts or non-profit marketers can use these trends to increase ticket sales. Cater to patrons in these audiences, and optimize your mobile website experience and ticket-buying experience to these audiences.
Luckily, arts and nonprofit marketers don’t have to spend their entire budgets on the “mobile experience”, but can market to patrons effectively on mobile with these tips.
Ways to Optimize for Mobile
Some effective ways you can enhance your ecommerce experience for mobile ticket-buying patrons include:
-
Make sure your ticket buying experience is as seamless as on desktop devices. Optimize your site for mobile viewers and purchases.
-
Offer features for mobile-inclined patrons. For example, encourage your patrons to “check in” on Facebook, or include interactive parking maps or locations with show times on your website.
-
Offer incentives for those who buy tickets via mobile devices (discounts, being entered to win drawings, etc.), and get their feedback about their mobile ticket experience via a form or simple checkbox on the purchase page.