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Digital Ticketing Users will Reach 1.8 Billion by 2020

Digital ticketing will continue to be a high growth market. A mobile ticketing user is someone who either purchases and/or stores a ticket using their mobile handset for later redemption. In contrast, an online ticketing user is likely someone who purchases a ticket online via an Internet connected device, thereby replacing the prior conventional ticket purchase process.

There's been substantial new growth in mobile and online ticketing, partly as a result of growing user adoption and usage momentum. While in some markets ticketing is a new service offering and users have simply never had this functionality open to them previously, in other markets these services are mature and well established.

Digital Ticketing Market Development

Online ticketing now accounts for majority of ticketing transactions in many markets across the globe, including both developed and developing countries. That said, mobile ticketing is fast becoming a popular method for transit fare collection and online bookings.

According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, mobile and wearable ticket purchases will exceed 14 billion by 2018, accounting for 54 percent of total digital ticket sales across transport and events sectors.

Moreover, Juniper estimated that the total number of transactions via mobile devices will exceed PC-based ticket sales for the first time in 2017 -- driven primarily by metro and air ticket purchases.


The Juniper study found that globally, metro, bus and airline app ticketing is the most established in terms of deployment and user adoption, followed by events ticketing. By 2020, Juniper forecasts that the number of digital ticketing users across all platforms will exceed 1.8 billion, with mobile NFC accounting for 215 million unique users.

The majority of mobile ticketing deployments -- especially in markets such as North America -- continues to be dominated by app-based ticketing services, using visual or QR-code authentication. However, mobile contactless ticketing is fast becoming the de-facto mode of payment for metro and bus ticketing in selected cities, especially within Europe.

Juniper also found that with the increased integration of chatbots, ticketing providers can offer a wealth of services directly to consumers via their dedicated app. "While the potential opportunities for consumers are clear, the use of chatbots also aids ticketing providers, providing insight into user preferences and demands," said Nitin Bhas, head of research at Juniper Research.

Outlook for Digital Ticketing Chatbots

However, chatbots in ticketing will be primarily restricted to informational services such as tickets and seats availability, public transport arrivals or timetable inquiries, with the majority of consumers saying that they're wary of conducting actual financial transactions.

According to the Juniper assessment, this consumer resistance is likely to diminish over the next 5 years with ticketing transactions conducted via messaging-based chatbots reaching $6 billion by 2022.

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