In the wake of a global pandemic, it seems like more consumers than ever will be giving experiences as gifts rather than material goods. In fact, a new study found that 54% of Americans plan to spend money on experiences rather than physical gifts this holiday season. Following lock downs and missed trips and opportunities to be out and social, more people are craving experience.
What does this mean for you as an event organizer? How can you capitalize on this opportunity?
Marketing season tickets as gifts could be a great way for you to increase your revenue and help your customers find the perfect gift for that special someone.
Marketing Event Tickets and Season Tickets as Gift Options
Recently on the blog, we discussed how selling event tickets or sports season passes as holiday gifts could be a great way for you to leverage the increased interest in experiences over material gifts. Your customers are eager to return to a more normal social routine and make up for lost time (while maintaining their personal safety).
The key is to advertise the experience that your event is offering as well as thinking outside the box for ways to add on to that experience. For example, maybe you decide to bundle tickets or throw in some extra goodies or discounts (like merch or upgrade options). This transforms your regular admission offering into something that feels really special, making it an ideal holiday gift. The important thing is to make your customers aware of all that you’re offering.
Let’s Talk Statistics
In a largely digital world, we can see that the majority of adults are looking to purchase experiential gifts over traditional material gifts. This is due largely to their increased desire to do things with their loved ones as well as the ease of purchasing online. According to a recent survey:
- 63% of US adults said they would prefer to receive an experience gift over a material one.
- 50% of US adults plan to give experience gifts in 2021
- 85% of US adults agree that experiential gifts are better for both the gift giver and receiver, they’re a way to enjoy something together
- 59% of US adults find it easier to shop for experience gifts rather than material ones
Now is the perfect time to market your season tickets as gifts and give your customers what they’re looking for.
Ready to sell your event tickets as holiday gifts? Schedule an onboarding call; we'll set everything up for you!
What’s the Rush?
It may only be the beginning of November, however, 2021 gift purchasing trends seem to be leaning towards early planning when compared to previous years. This is likely due to the ease of online shopping as well as the various supply chain issues and shipping delays we’ve seen on the rise in the past few months.
Research shows and past trends have shown, people have begun thinking and planning and researching what to gift their loved ones this holiday season. According to a May 2021 study, 20% of US adults have already purchased holiday gifts, 23% will purchase them in the spring, 25% will purchase them over the summer, 22% will purchase in October or November, 7% will make purchases on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and 3% will shop in Mid December.
So you may be asking yourself not only when you should start marketing your season tickets as gifts, but am I already too late?
Our answer is: as soon as you can, and no not at all! Sure, there are plenty of early birds who've checked off most of their shopping list, but a third of us have just recently started shopping. More importantly, event tickets are the ultimate last-minute gift: they can be delivered instantly to friends and family who live far away with just a few clicks. That’s where you come in - offering them a great gift idea they can share and participate in with their friends and family.
How Can I Sell My Tickets as Holiday Gifts?
Marketing season tickets as gifts doesn’t have to involve some crazy expensive or extensive marketing/advertising campaign. Just let your current audience know you have a new offering. Put the word out on every social media channel you have, add a banner to your website, you could even send out an email blast to your email subscribers with holiday gift ideas - including your season tickets.
- Evaluate your ticket offerings
- Promote your tickets as gifts
- Get creative on social media
- 46% of Gen Zers looked to social media for gift inspiration with Instagram being the main source
- Enable gifting for your events
Check out our recent blog post, How to Sell Your Event Tickets as Holiday Gifts, for more in-depth ground rules for marketing your event during the holiday season.
How Will Gift Purchasers Share Tickets with Recipients?
At Passage, we've introduced a gifting feature to help you do just that. This feature allows anyone purchasing a ticket to identify their purchase as a gift at checkout and send the ticket to the recipient's email. Click here for more details on our gifting feature.
We’ve made it as simple and user friendly as possible so that your customers can buy tickets with ease and peace of mind.
Ready to sell your event tickets or season passes as holiday gifts? Schedule a demo to see how Passage can help, or schedule an onboarding call to get started right away!
