Olivia PowellA new study from Juniper Research has found that mobile ticketing transaction volume, including tickets purchased via contactless, in-app, and mobile messaging, will recover to pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 2022.
Transaction volume is set to increase from 6.8bn in 2020 to 16.9bn in 2022, as restrictions are eased, travel numbers increase, and entertainment events are rescheduled.
The research, ‘Digital Ticketing: Industry Trends, Opportunities & Market Forecasts 2020-2025 Report’, identified the US as having “high growth” as the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic diminish. It also found that mobile ticketing transaction volume here will grow by 220% between 2020 and 2023, driven by “increasing deployments of contactless and in-app ticketing solutions”.
The research also found that mobile ticketing purchase values for entertainment and sporting events will not exceed 2019 levels until 2023. While events will resume earlier than this date, consumer concerns around safety and economic challenges will mean recovery is only possible in the longer term.
The research predicts that mobile ticketing will play a key role in addressing safety concerns and rejuvenating the events industry.
Research author, Susannah Hampton, said: “The successful implementation of mobile ticketing is crucial to restoring consumer confidence in entertainment venues; putting the pressure on ticketing vendors to facilitate this urgent requirement.”
The research also predicted that transaction values for contactless ticketing will recover strongly, exceeding pre-Covid figures by 2021, with values growing to US$25bn (£19.6bn) in 2023, from a 2020 figure of US$6bn (£4.7bn)
Juniper Research anticipates this to be “a permanent shift, with users increasingly accustomed to the speed and convenience of contactless payments over cash and preferring a touch-free payment experience in an attempt to avoid contact with the virus”.
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