The Price is Right Here
4/12/18
As consumers’ wallets have gotten squeezed to the max, it’s only natural that ticket price has become possibly the most important factor for many ticket buyers—beyond date, seating section, and sometimes even the show itself.
For the most part, ticket searches have traditionally focused on the section of the theatre to help shoppers find tickets at the right price. On desktop sites like Telecharge.com, where customers can choose from a seating chart, hovering over a seat with the mouse reveals the price of the ticket. Price sliders and other tools are often available to narrow down the available seats at a certain performance.
What’s been missing has been a way for customers to search for a desired price level across all performances of a show—particularly on mobile’s streamlined shopping experience. Often, the process is focused on only finding the lowest priced tickets in the fastest way possible. That’s great for some truly budget-conscious buyers, but it neglects people who are willing to pay more for a better seat.
Telecharge has sought to solve this problem on its mobile site with new search-by-price functionality that allows the customer to select a price level (for a single show) and search for any date where that price is available. Customers can also layer in a date search to narrow down further.
Available on Telecharge.com (and soon on TelechargeOffers.com), it gives consumers more search options and better transparency with seat locations. So far, the results have been promising; in a short amount of time, about 25% of customers have used the new price options in their searches.
There is a lot that remains to be seen. For instance, although the vast majority of searches by price have looked at tickets in the $50 - $99 range, the conversion rate at this level remains on the lower side. That may be a result of not enough inventory at those levels, or it could be that it’s tougher for customers who search for $50 - $99 tickets to pull the trigger and actually buy.
Either way, increasing the ability of customers to find tickets at the price they’re willing to pay—regardless of date or section—is a step in the right direction for mobile. And the data collected can help inform how much inventory shows should make available at specific prices. Meanwhile, mobile customers get the benefit of a better shopping experience, which, as they get used to the functionality over time, should increase conversions.
Kind of a win-win.
For more information on the Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
For the most part, ticket searches have traditionally focused on the section of the theatre to help shoppers find tickets at the right price. On desktop sites like Telecharge.com, where customers can choose from a seating chart, hovering over a seat with the mouse reveals the price of the ticket. Price sliders and other tools are often available to narrow down the available seats at a certain performance.
What’s been missing has been a way for customers to search for a desired price level across all performances of a show—particularly on mobile’s streamlined shopping experience. Often, the process is focused on only finding the lowest priced tickets in the fastest way possible. That’s great for some truly budget-conscious buyers, but it neglects people who are willing to pay more for a better seat.
Telecharge has sought to solve this problem on its mobile site with new search-by-price functionality that allows the customer to select a price level (for a single show) and search for any date where that price is available. Customers can also layer in a date search to narrow down further.
Available on Telecharge.com (and soon on TelechargeOffers.com), it gives consumers more search options and better transparency with seat locations. So far, the results have been promising; in a short amount of time, about 25% of customers have used the new price options in their searches.
There is a lot that remains to be seen. For instance, although the vast majority of searches by price have looked at tickets in the $50 - $99 range, the conversion rate at this level remains on the lower side. That may be a result of not enough inventory at those levels, or it could be that it’s tougher for customers who search for $50 - $99 tickets to pull the trigger and actually buy.
Either way, increasing the ability of customers to find tickets at the price they’re willing to pay—regardless of date or section—is a step in the right direction for mobile. And the data collected can help inform how much inventory shows should make available at specific prices. Meanwhile, mobile customers get the benefit of a better shopping experience, which, as they get used to the functionality over time, should increase conversions.
Kind of a win-win.
For more information on the Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
Originally published in Broadway Briefing.