LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Live Nation's UK Ticketmaster operation has expanded their e-commerce platform to allow fans to purchase artist merchandise such as DVDs, books, catalogues and programs at the same time as they purchase concert tickets.
Additional merch items will be displayed during the ticket purchasing process and desired items can be added to the users' cart, and then purchased with a single click. The system would also let ticketing clients design "bundled" package deals of tickets and merch to offer to customers. Once purchased, consumers will be emailed with a unique code and website address to launch and redeem the product direct from an in-house or third party store.
The system has already been given a successful live test run at this year's T4 On The Beach. Ticket purchasers for the event were offered merch such as a branded T4 beach bag, CDs and a T-shirt when they purchased their tickets. Customers who purchased merch then picked it up at the venue on the day of the event by using the bar code on their ticket, which was scanned at the merch stand.
Live Nation is looking past music with this program and reports that they are working with Disney's "The Lion King" at London's Lyceum Theatre and a similar benefit could be envisioned with sports ticketing. Merchandise and concession sales are a large part of Live Nation's strategy and help to offset the narrow margins realized on event promotion. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
