A new study from Juniper Research has found that users of mobile ticketing will total 1.9 billion by 2023, up from 1.1 billion in 2019. In comparison, the total number of digital ticketing users across mobile, online and wearable channels, will reach 2.2 billion by 2023.

According to the new research, Mobile & Online Ticketing: Transport, Events & Contactless 2019-2023, mobile ticketing has become a primary driver of MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service); the future of urban mobility. MaaS is set to become the central pillar of smart city transport initiatives, which will lead to 60% of all mobile ticketing users using metro and rail ticketing by 2023. It found that cities envisioning MaaS as the solution to improving citizen lifestyles must invest in mobile ticketing.

Sports ticketing must change due to changing fan relationships

Mobile ticket purchasing is becoming the norm in sports, with fans predicted to spend $23 billion (€20.2 billion) via mobile in 2023, up from $14 billion (€12.3 billion) in 2019. This will be driven by increased app use by teams for fan engagement. In 2018 many teams switched to mobile ticketing, leading to nearly 80 million mobile sports ticketing users.

Research author Nick Maynard explained: “The rise of sports team apps means that ticketing vendors must provide effective APIs for ticketing in-app. Without these, established vendors will find themselves displaced by newer, sports-specific ticketing solutions.”

Chatbots to find a place in ticketing despite rocky start

The research also found that despite low adoption by ticketing vendors, chatbots as a delivery channel will grow. Juniper forecasts that by 2023, users will access chatbots over 4 billion times per year for ticketing purposes.

While there have been cybersecurity concerns about chatbots, they have strong potential to alter the way ticketing vendors communicate with users. Juniper anticipates that the majority of interactions will, however, provide information only, with less than 40% of interactions monetised in 2023, compared with 5% in 2019.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector; providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

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