improving the event experience

Transcription

1 festival survey 2018 improving the event experience customer insights to support cashless payments

2 foreword by Jason Thomas, Global CEO at tappit Festival goers are expecting more from their chosen festivals than ever before. Waiting in line for tickets, for entry to the site, for refreshments and merchandise has been tolerated as part of the festival experience for decades. However, consumers expectations have changed and experiences both good and bad can go viral immediately. Add this to the growing competition from rival events, festivals need to up their game. If festivals want to continue to hit the right notes with event goers, they must meet their customers payment needs, as well as their musical tastes. By making it easier to pay for entry to the site, through to drinks, food and merchandise - tappit s cashless payment technology is making festivals memorable for all the right reasons. The report tappit conducted a survey of more than 800 festival goers, asking them about preferred payments methods, spending habits and the moments that really create an unforgettable festival experience. We know that consumers are at different stages of embracing cashless, and that every festival audience is different. We have broken down the results into three age categories:,, and over 50s. This allows festival organisers of all shapes and sizes to benefit from a deeper understanding of the expectations of festival goers of the future, and how to improve their experience. What is cashless? Cashless systems, where a prepaid card or wristband is used as an entry ticket and to purchase food and merchandise, are already improving many international music festivals and major sporting events. Cashless payment systems offer considerable advantages over traditional contactless or chip and PIN card payments. With transaction times around 20% quicker than traditional methods, reduced queuing times mean happier festival goers and increased revenue. tappit s cashless payment system has another key advantage not just over chip and PIN, but over open loop contactless as well - it significantly reduces fraud and theft, as well as providing organisers with valuable data to monitor spending patterns to deliver a personalised festival experience like no other. The opportunity to benefit from a significant return on investment is huge and tappit also helps to create new revenue streams including sponsorship opportunities. With straight forward, non-tech heavy implementation and no disruption to existing systems, going cashless is much easier than you might think. Working with tappit By combining data insights with our expertise and experience - tappit can help make the transition to cashless as smooth as possible. Having worked with festivals and major sporting events worldwide, one thing is clear - if you highlight the benefits of cashless, communicate effectively and provide the right customer support, both customer and event will reap the rewards. Bestival has always been about escapism, creating an otherworldly wonderland, where you can leave all the stresses of real life behind. We think tappit s wristbands can be a big part of that, reducing queues and hassles and making things a bit more care-free for festivalgoers. They also give us the sort of real-time data insights that can help us with a lot of things like crowd management. We eventually foresee it all going totally cashless, which will make the whole Bestival experience even more easy going for everyone. Bestival co-founder and curator Rob da Bank

3 results who we surveyed the festival experience 3+ The majority of this age group visit 3 or more festivals per year, showing that they can t get enough of their favourite bands and enjoying the festival atmosphere. 1+ Festival goers are enjoying multiple festival experiences and love a combination of music, food and drink and making new festival friends. This age group carefully chooses the festival experience that is right for them. 56% of festival goers aged only attend one festival per year. 59 % of festival goers make the trip to 2 or more festivals a year, meaning that festival visits are more frequent than foreign holidays. 1+ Similarly to the age group, these older festival goers prefer to choose their festival experience carefully. 61% of year olds visit one festival per year. Music is the best thing about festivals for this age group, but being outside enjoying the weather is also a key factor, with 42% of this age group choosing weather as a key factor, when attending a summer festival.

4 a safe environment to enjoy festivals Carrying smart phones and dressed to impress in expensive clothing & accessories, this age group want to know that they will be safe at a festival. 87% of this age group are concerned about theft at a festival. Visiting a festival, whether a food and drink event, a music extravaganza or a low key gathering should be a time for people to enjoy the moment and experience new sights and sounds. Despite this, 84% of all respondents worry about theft at a festival. By implementing a cashless system, festival organisers can reassure festival goers of the security of payments and data. Slightly less so than the younger age group, these experienced festival goers still know the perils of theft at a festival, with 77% deciding that it is a major worry. This age group also has big concerns about security of a festival experience. 79% of this age group worry about keeping their possessions safe.

5 cashless festivals It is no surprise that year olds are quick to embrace the latest innovations, including cashless. They are more likely to use contactless mobile payments than other age groups and an even bigger majority prefer contactless credit/debit cards to pay for those festival treats. 73 % of festival goers of all ages prefer to use cashless payments. Credit/debit cards remain the most popular method of payment, with a majority preferring the speed of contactless transactions. Tokens or wristbands are the preferred choice of almost 10% of our respondents, meaning this method is used by millions each year. There is huge potential for cashless These results reflect the fact that cashless systems are not yet widespread at festivals. However, these statistics clearly prove that people dislike using cash. Couple this with the added benefits that a cashless system provides to organiser and customer - and the transition to cashless should be an easy one to make. As it was back in the day, cash is still the preferred method of choice for this age group. However this age group has shown the biggest preference for prepaid tokens/wristbands. Almost as many respondents in this age group prefer to use prepaid cards/wristbands or tokens, as would like to use contactless credit/debit cards. Mobile payments are not a popular choice with this age group.

6 festival spending Even more so than their older counterparts, 83% of these frugal year olds will know how much money they want to spend when they are attending a festival. As this age group is the least likely to be using cash, impulse purchases are likely. 79 % of festival goers say they have a budget when attending a festival, meaning food and drink, and additional purchases are considered in advance. 24 % of festival goers rate carrying too much cash as the worst thing about festivals. This is likely impacted by increased costs of using ATMs at festivals, and concerns about theft - all of which will affect spending limits. Cashless gives customers the confidence to spend safely. Separate studies have shown that budgets set by event-goers are rarely adhered to, when cashless is used, as the system enables safe and easy spending. Perhaps with more disposable income, this age group considers a budget, but not as much as the age group. This age group is more likely to use cash at a festival, with 79% concerned about theft but only 65% considering a spending limit.

7 what is the most important factor when paying for goods at a festival? 71% of this age group considers security to be the most important factor when at a festival. This age group understands the need for payment methods to be secure, as they regularly use a variety of cashless payment methods. Security is still the most important factor with this age group. However, as they have been there and got the festival t-shirt they also consider speed and convenience as more important than the younger generation does. 68 % of festival goers consider security to be the most important factor when making purchases at a festival. This means that, when going cashless, event organisers need to make sure the system they use provides reassurance that data and account details are safe and secure. This age group knows all about the importance of payments security. 62% consider security the most important factor when purchasing at a festival.

8 good things do not come to those who wait This age group is more likely to download a payment app with cashless payment options ready to go. They value speed and convenience, which is why 87% of this age group considers waiting in line to be the worst part of making a payment at a festival. This age group is concerned about a wider range of issues at festivals, because they are more used to paying with cash at festivals. Long queues are the biggest concern, along with worrying about having to carry cash in the first place. 84 % of respondents say the worst thing about making a payment at a festival is standing in long queues. Missing key moments at a festival, or not having the time to enjoy all the highlights leads to negative experiences for festival goers. 28% of this age group consider lack of payment options to be the worst part about making a payment at a festival, more so than other age groups. However, 69% of this age group dislike the queues when making payments.

9 what could be worse than festival toilets? Modern festivals must be getting cleaner! This age group is less concerned with mud and toilets and more concerned with how much money they are going to spend. the cost of attending a festival! This age group has seen it all! 81% of this age group is more concerned with the facilities at a festival than how much they will spend. This age group consider multiple factors which will enhance the overall experience. 57 % of festival goers consider expense to be their main concern. This emphasis on spending at a festival shows that festival goers are considering what is in their wallets more than which hygiene products to take with them. This age group knows how much their festival experience will cost. With a higher disposable income, they rate the overall festival experience as more important. Keep it clean though! 84% of this age group considers the toilets the worst thing about attending festivals.

10 final observations who we work with We all love attending festivals. Whether it s to watch our favourite band, spend time with friends or enjoy a family day out, there s nothing quite like it. However, with the exception of the weather, improvements can always be made to ensure the festival experience gets better and better each year for its supporters. Adopting the latest technology plays a huge role and it does not have to be as costly, hard to implement or slow as event organisers may think. With tappit easy to use technology and unbeatable customer support, festivals and events can be live and accepting cashless payments within 30 days! After surveying more than 800 festival-goers, cashless payments could combat two major concerns to ensure festivals keep evolving and improving the customer experience each time. Here are our main observations: 87% of year olds felt theft was their biggest worry when attending a festival. 71% of the same age group considered security of the transactions to also be a key factor when attending at events. 87% of year olds moaned that standing in a long queue was the worst part of their festival experience. With only 27% of our respondents prefering to use cash at a festival, isn t it time you give them a better alternative? For more information visit

11 about tappit tappit enhances live experiences, providing technology and insights to make events better and more profitable. tappit is passionate about improving the experiences of attendees at sports, festivals and entertainment venues; a passion born of the fact that we are a team of sports fans, music enthusiasts and event lovers. The tappit platform has cashless payments at its core and offers access control, online registration, detailed reporting and easy integration with existing systems. We reduce queues, maximise profit, eliminate fraud and provide event organisers with valuable data insight. Events and venues around the world provide the best cashless experience using tappit, including: Birmingham City Football Club, Bestival, Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s, Creamfields, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the World Surf League. for more information visit