Facebook Testing Event Ticket Sales via Desktop Site, App
Turning social media into a commerce channel is still a work in progress, but one that few are giving up on with a global user base across social media of more than 2 billion, according to Euromonitor International. The latest attempt from Facebook taps into the summer concert season with the social networking giant testing a feature enabling its U.S. users to buy tickets to concerts and other events from its desktop site and its iOS and Android apps.
Facebook has teamed up with ticketing platforms Eventbrite and Ticketmaster for the pilot. Facebook users already are able to buy tickets on the site’s event pages, but the user is taken to another third-party site to complete the purchase. For the pilot, some registration information, such as name, email and payment information, to purchase event tickets are populated for the user automatically by Facebook. Buying tickets to Eventbrite events can be done in two taps, resulting in a QR code within Facebook, which serves as the ticket. The process for Ticketmaster events is similar for the user; however, a QR code isn’t provided and the user still is redirected to Ticketmaster’s site to complete the transaction.
“Our belief is that enabling a seamless checkout experience on Facebook, where people already spend 20 percent of their time online, will help organizers drive more ticket sales,” an Eventbrite spokesperson tells Paybefore.
Facebook continues to grow beyond posting “selfies” or photos from users’ latest outings. Last month, American Express announced a partnership with Facebook enabling the network to interact with cardholders via Facebook Messenger. The initiative features an American Express messenger “bot” that sends cardholders real-time purchase notifications and information about card benefits and services related to those purchases.
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