“It used to be that an online store was considered a bonus. Now it’s table stakes to be in the game. To be competitive in the attractions market, you have to sell online. ”

“People have a much higher propensity to buy tickets in advance and the easier you can make that process for them, the more they will buy. It’s important to note that advance selling doesn’t mean necessarily buying tickets at home either. You can use it as an effective strategy to shorten lines. If people are waiting in line and see that they can buy tickets on their phones, they can skip the lines and have a better experience and, better yet, not get discouraged and leave.”

“The design and feel of the online store is important. Empire State Building does a great job with advance ticketing. The better the online presence an attraction has, the more appealing the facility feels and the more likely people will make a purchase.”
Capitalising on advance ticketing really involves testing what works for your consumer base. For theme parks in general, most studies have found that Mum makes the purchase decision. So tailoring your website to appeal to her when she’s doing her shopping is important.”

“Advance ticketing offers an exceptional opportunity for operators. Across our portfolio of clients we see attractions selling between 20 to 40 per cent of their total tickets through eCommerce. Within that percentage we’re seeing huge shifts in purchase behaviour.”

“In 2012, mobile ticket sales were only 2 to 3 per cent of our total online sales volume. Three years later and we’re quickly approaching a “mobile majority” where anywhere from 20 to 30 per cent of online ticket sales come from mobile devices.”

” If the online store is easy to use, guests buy more than just tickets: they’ll buy parking and meals, helping to increase the spend per cap ”

“Advance tickets sales allow those who have purchased tickets in advance to be fast-tracked at the point of entry, which reduces queue times. The advance ticket data can be used to forecast daily admission numbers and accurately predict staffing requirements.”

“In the future, emailing directly to wallet applications on smartphones and iWatches will become more popular, further streamlining the transaction for both the operator and customer.”

“Cashflow can be improved by using advance ticketing, as some people buy tickets up to six months in advance. It makes the visitor figures less vulnerable to bad weather, as if people have made the purchase they tend to visit anyway, and if they decide not to, the attraction has already secured the income.”
Advance ticketing enables attraction operators to create a dynamic and flexible pricing structure, offering different rates depending on the day, time of day, or season.

“Offering customers discounts for buying tickets in advance, but charging full price on the day, can give people a further incentive to go ahead and make the booking. This can also be used to help boost attendance during quiet times.”

source https://www.attractionsmanagement.com