A 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 will increase from 6.8 billion in 2020 to 16.9 billion in 2022, as restrictions are eased, travel numbers increase, and entertainment events are rescheduled.
The research identified the US as having high growth as the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic diminish. It 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.
Mobile Sports & Entertainment Ticketing Will Not Return to Pre-pandemic Levels Until 2023
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, and urges stakeholders to deploy mobile ticketing strategies now, in order to be best positioned for the reopening of events.Research author Susannah Hampton explained: ‘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.’
Shift to Contactless Ticketing Will Be Permanent
Transaction values for contactless ticketing will recover strongly; exceeding pre-COVID figures by 2021, with values growing to $25 billion in 2023 from a 2020 figure of $6 billion. 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.
